National Council of Sports (NCS) and Makerere University on Wednesday, 12th February, 2026 handed over the Makerere University Sports Grounds to the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade for development ahead of the AFCON 2027.
The ground is one of the earmarked training venues to support Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, as a venue for the 2027 Pamoja AFCON and the development will start this month.
NCS Chairman Ambrose Tashobya and Makerere University Vice Chancellor Barnabas Nawangwe handed over the site to the Engineering Brigade’s Lt. Col. Engineer Peter Sseku Kidemuka, the Project Manager, who will be tasked with transforming the site into a CAF-certified ground over the next eight months at a Shs21.8bn cost.
“This is not only going to be a football stadium. The facility we are going to construct here will do football, athletics and rugby plus other outdoor sports in the annex,” noted Tashobya.
Professor Nawangwe called the milestone a dream come true to the University.
“We have been planning a stadium here for more than 30 years but we had never got the money to begin the work. It will not only be a stadium for Makerere University; it will be a national stadium open to the public. But of course there will be a management committee to oversee,” he noted.
UPDF have been entrusted with the project after great works at the Namboole main stadium and the annex training ground as well as the Kyambogo University grounds ahead of last year’s CHAN Tournament.
“We are going to deliver quality work, timely work and work of value. We have the capacity for both human and capital resources as UPDF and the works we have done are self explanatory,” promised Kidemuka.
UPDF will be supervised by the Ministry of Works and Transport, for whom the Commissioner Public Structures Arch. Dr Edward Ssimbwa and Project Manager Arch. Andrew Nsamba were present at the handover.
“We have always been contract managers but now we are also project managers because the ministry of education and sports wanted to save money. It is a huge task but we promise to finish what we started,” said Ssimbwa.
As is mandated, the NCS are the client and Makerere University the Landlord.
“This handover is proof of the government’s commitment to sports infrastructure development and bringing the best Afcon in 2027,” highlighted Dr. Ogwel.
In that regard Chairman Tashobya was in the company of General Secretary Dr Bernard Patrick Ogwel to witness the due transformation that will include a football and rugby training pitch, a running track, a 1,700-seater pavilion, modern dressing rooms, floodlights, as well as upgraded power and water support facilities.
Makerere, Kyambogo, the FUFA Kadiba Stadium, and the outside pitch at Namboole form the cluster of training grounds to support the Mandela National Stadium during AFCON next year.
Uganda earmarked Namboole stadium and Hoima city stadium to host the continental showpiece but also are working tirelessly to have Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium completed in time in case of any eventualities. Both Hoima city and Akii Bua stadium will also have four-pitch clusters of their own.
