Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium: Inside the Less-Talked-About AFCON 2027 Venue Coming Up in Uganda

In recent months, focus has been on ongoing construction of stadiums that will be used to host 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2027) matches.

‎So far, a lot has been written and said about Kenya's Talanta Stadium in Nairobi and the Samia Suluhu Stadium in Arusha, Tanzania.

‎Uganda's Hoima Stadium has also been highlighted but not much has been said of another facility under construction in the country.

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‎That is the Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira, Northern Uganda whose construction is ongoing and is also listed as one of the facilities the country plans to use during AFCON 2027.

‎The Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium had its ground-breaking done by President Yoweri Museveni in January 2025, one month after a 20-month deal was signed by the government and Egyptian company SAMCO National Construction.

‎That set the ball rolling but construction work on the project has encountered problems such as missing land title and procurement delay.

However, work has since continued without hiccups with latest reports indicating that the project is 30 per cent complete.

‎Just like the Mandela National Stadium (Namboole) in the capital Kampala and Hoima City Stadium, the Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium is also a multi-purpose facility and it will host football, athletics, rugby among other outdoor games

‎The 20,000-seater stadium will also have a mini-indoor facility for indoor games, halls for conferences and conventions as well as training facilities.

Once completed, there will be the main stadium, 20,000-seater, plus the tartan track, training facilities for track and field with at least two changing rooms, a 2,000-seater multi-sport indoor facility, a 25m semi-Olympic size swimming pool, outdoor stadia for games like basketball, netball, volleyball and badminton, an open and closed car park of up to 1,000 cars and a spectator piazza.

‎Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium, whose total cost is projected to be $125 million or UGX442 billion (Ksh16 billion) was built in honour of Uganda's first Olympics gold medalist John Akii-Bua, a Lira native, who won gold in the 400m hurdles at the 1972 Munich Games.

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