President Yoweri Museveni has directed government institutions to accelerate Uganda’s preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Museveni issued the directive after meeting CAF Secretary General Samson Adamu and Uganda’s National AFCON Task Force at State House Entebbe on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja led the Ugandan delegation and presented an update on the country’s progress towards hosting the continental tournament.
State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang, FUFA president Moses Magogo and National Council of Sports board chairman Ambrose Tashobya attended the meeting.
Members of the UPDF Engineering Brigade, which is involved in delivering some tournament infrastructure, were also represented during the discussions.
“Today at State House Entebbe, I met with the CAF Secretary General, Samson Adamu, and the National AFCON Task Force,” Museveni said.
The President said Nabbanja’s briefing highlighted Uganda’s progress and the areas requiring urgent intervention before the tournament begins next year.
Museveni particularly identified infrastructure, training facilities, transport systems and accommodation among the areas where government institutions must increase their pace.
“I directed the relevant institutions to move faster, particularly on infrastructure, training grounds, roads, airport facilities and accommodation in the upcountry host cities,” he said.
The directive places increased responsibility on ministries, construction teams and tournament organisers as CAF continues monitoring Uganda’s delivery of hosting requirements.
Museveni stressed that completing projects would not be sufficient unless every facility also met the technical and operational standards established by CAF.
“We must be ready on time and to the required standards,” the President said.
Uganda will jointly host the tournament with Kenya and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
The competition will be the first Africa Cup of Nations hosted by three countries and the first staged within the CECAFA region since Ethiopia in 1976.
Mandela National Stadium in Namboole and the Hoima City Stadium are central to Uganda’s preparations.
Attention will also remain on proposed training grounds, access roads, airport services and accommodation required for teams, officials, supporters and broadcasters.
CAF president Patrice Motsepe recently visited Tanzania and Kenya to review progress across the Pamoja AFCON host countries.
Although Motsepe expressed confidence in East Africa’s ability to deliver the tournament, he acknowledged that significant work remained and demanded faster implementation.
Museveni also promised to engage the leaders of Kenya and Tanzania about easing cross-border movement during the tournament.
“I will also engage my counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania on the proposed single visa arrangement to ease movement during the tournament,” he said.
The proposed arrangement could allow supporters, teams, officials and accredited personnel to travel more conveniently between the three host countries.
It could also strengthen the tournament’s regional character by allowing visitors to attend matches and tourism activities across East Africa.
The immediate challenge remains converting presidential directives into visible progress across every stadium, training facility and supporting infrastructure project.