What you need to know:
- The Cranes lie third in Group F, level on four points with Tanzania.
- They need to win their remaining two games against Algeria and Niger and hope Tanzania results go Uganda’s way to qualify for Afcon 2023
March 29, 2023: “The game against Algeria will be played here in Namboole Stadium on 12th June. That is my promise to Ugandans,” State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang tweeted.
April 25, 2023: This “being the deadline set by Caf for all federations to submit names of venues to be used for the qualifiers due in June, the Fufa executive has taken a decision to host the Uganda Cranes next Afcon 2023 home fixture against Algeria in Cameroon,” Fufa announced, 28 days later.
Absolutely no surprise at all! See, the minister made this bold claim of a stadium, who’s playing surface – among several untouched requirements – still reeked of fresh murrum soil, hosting an international match completely unprovoked!
He followed the above with a catalogue of explanations after his followers queried the practicality of facility refurbishment being ready in the said time.
“Major works at Namboole have been concluded,” he said, then, in March, “we are now looking at fixing the 40,000 seats, which will be concluded in less than a month.” Check? The seats are not in the country yet.
“The other issue is the grass,”Ogwang continued, “we are working with a UK based consultancy firm to ensure we have the best of the best on time.” This also remains at large.
Nothing new
And after Ogwang and Fufa’s routine inspection, whose results they will have been sure about as Steph Curry is from the three-point arc, on Monday, the game against Algeria will be hosted away in Cameroon.
Tanzania will be hosting Algeria. “The connections to Cameroon are good, the visa process requirements are okay, but most importantly Cameroon will also give us an international friendly,” Fufa president Moses Magogo explained the choice.
Fufa described the work “as very slow and insensitive to cries of the public to be able to host the matches in Uganda,” in a statement seen as one to not only give the minister a soft landing from his premature proclamations, but also conveniently tap into the expected public ire.
Minister Ogwang promised a response after his plenary sitting on Tuesday.
Magogo called upon the “relevant government authorities to urgently cancel the contracts of the contractors and supervisors and immediately procure experienced service providers in stadium construction, even if it means being obtained from outside Uganda.”
The stadium refurbishment was handed over to the UPDF Engineering Brigade last year in February.
Source : Monitor