Sports Minister Ogwang confirms when Namboole Stadium will be opened

The Minister of State for Sports, Peter Ogwang, has made it public knowledge that the Mandela National Stadium, also known as Namboole, will be ready for use next year for the World Cup qualifiers.

This makes it the fourth deadline after initial failures to meet the previously set timelines.

Initially, the UPDF Engineering Brigade had set the deadline for June 2023, before it was later pushed to August and further to November 30 by the Minister of Education and Sports, First Lady Janet Museveni.

However, in his recent brief with the press, Ogwang, who confirmed the completion of 90% of the works, asserted it would be ready for Uganda's first home 2026 World Cup qualifier.

"I want to confirm that we will be able to open Namboole for our next game in Uganda, a World Cup qualifier in March," he said.

"As for now, there are one or two issues that need to be done, but so far, almost 90% of the renovation works are complete," Ogwang added.

The Minister further explained why there have been delays to the completion of the works on the famous Namboole.

"The pitch has been worked on, but the grass was planted, and it takes time to grow. The first phase of its cutting has been done, so it needs to be compacted for it to be ready for use."

"The other issue is the floodlights; they need to be on international standards, and the company contracted has to get certification from FIFA; now we wait for the delivery."

Ogwang then confirmed the government had released the Supplementary funds for the completion of the works.