AFCON 2027: CAF’s Hotel Demands Threatening to Spoil Uganda’s Hosting Chances

While Kenya is struggling with meeting the high standards set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when it comes to stadiums and training facilities, Uganda has a more complex problem.

CAF inspectors were in East Africa recently and gave a damning verdict on Kenya and Uganda, casting doubts over whether the two countries will be ready to stage the tournament.

Kenya’s preparedness came under scrutiny with works at Kasarani and Talanta Stadiums, the two venues earmarked to host matches, behind schedule while the upgrade on training facilities is yet to start. Further, the country is yet to submit the $30 million (Ksh3.9 billion) hosting fee with the deadline being Monday, March 30.

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However, in Uganda, CAF’s report left the country with a major headache. According to the CAF delegation's inspection findings, Hoima City Stadium, completed five months ahead of schedule, is the least prepared among all facilities presented by the three host nations.

The CAF report delivered a damning assessment of the Hoima City Stadium, describing it as “completed and operational” but with several major operational deficiencies such as the current position of the benches causing a major obstruction from the stands.

There was also the absence of a clear segregation between spectator categories and a cross-circulation between media, VIP, teams and general spectators among other flaws.

But while those can be easily fixed, the main thing that has left Uganda with a major headache is CAF’s requirements of high-end hotel capacity, specifically demanding a minimum of five 5-star hotels, with each establishment offering at least 50 rooms in the region where the Hoima City Stadium is located.

There are concerns regarding the availability of high-end hotels in the Bunyoro sub-region (near Hoima stadium) with hotel owners requesting UGX130 billion in government support to upgrade facilities to 4-star and 5-star status to meet these requirements.

Already, Uganda’s AFCON 2027 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has dispatched a team to Bunyoro sub-region to identify suitable accommodation facilities that can be upgraded to meet CAF’s requirements.

“We have been directed by the Minister of Education and Sports to lead this team of government officials in identifying hotels that are fit to host AFCON players who will be playing from Hoima Stadium,” Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) Marketing Executive Rogers Byamukama Araali, who is leading the team, told the Daily Monitor.

“This is a very important exercise because AFCON is a major international tournament. We must ensure that the facilities we select can meet the expectations of teams, officials, and guests from across Africa and beyond,” added Byamukama, whose team will assess accommodation capacity, hygiene, security, accessibility and the quality of services offered by the facilities.

But while the government is putting its best foot forward to ensure CAF’s demands are met, there are doubts whether it is actually feasible, with ‘Big Brother’ set for another round of inspection in August this year.

How well Uganda deals with the issues raised will determine the scale of matches the country will stage during AFCON 2027 but there is also the longer-term impact of the strict CAF demands.

There are murmurs of discontent in Uganda over what will happen to such facilities after the tournament given the small town where Hoima Stadium is located struggles to attract high-end visitors that demand 5-star hotels on a regular basis.