During a press briefing held at FUFA Stadium Kadiba on September 20, FUFA President Engineer Moses Magogo spoke on the major importance of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations. “I am very grateful to Ugandans; it is the first time seeing them join efforts towards one cause.
They have supported AFCON from disbelief, and now every Ugandan wants the AFCON to come here.” It is the biggest event on the African continent, and its coming is going to be a revolution for football.
Things will change in every aspect, from the way football is governed, played, and supported as a sport and as a business,” Magogo added.
Magogo also noted how the project has already laid a fundamental change entirely for the sports industry: “Because of AFCON, the Government has injected much into infrastructure, with multi-sport facilities.”
Again, we are grateful to the government that they listened to us, and now football, plus other sports, are getting money as the government remains focused on continuing to increase the budget for all sports.
In the same conference, Magogo officially revealed plans for improving the national team: “As we look to improve the quality of football at the national team level, we, with the help of the government, are steadily negotiating with a lot of football players of Ugandan descent across the globe.
These players are being identified by the national team coach, and our duty as leaders is to negotiate with the players, their families, and agents. The government has heavily equipped us with everything to ensure these players get the needed paperwork.”
This comes as the Uganda Cranes are in Tunisia ahead of AFCON qualifiers, which the team is using to set the tone for the 2027 PAMOJA AFCON on home soil, while the country is using the qualifying campaign to tease the major tournament setups.
Further, Magogo also revealed that the government has raised the bar by increasing allowances and offering national team players Business Class travel for national duties.
He stated, ‘For a long time, players have been requesting this, and now the government has granted it. We know that for players, their business is their bodies, and we are looking to reduce exhaustion. We are not the first nation to do this, as other countries are doing this for their national teams.’
The Uganda Cranes await two fixtures this international break, as they shall take on Tunisia on September 24 away from home and Libya on September 29 in Hoima, as Hoima City Stadium is set to host night football for the first time ever.
