The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded the right to host the 2027 continental football tournament to Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
The three countries presented a joint bid to host the tournament this year.
The news has attracted celebrations from many politicians and football lovers. But skeptics have had a field day for mocking the country’s current abject sports facilities.
Uganda curently does not have a single CAF-approved stadium nor training facility, which is why the national side hosted its recent qualifier games in Egypt.
Observers have pointed at the uphill task facing the government to right this situation in the next two years as an enormous task, especially given the country’s economic situation.
The Minister of Education and Sport who is also the First Lady Janet Museveni cheered the sports fraternity for the good news. She said: “This is a great milestone in fostering the spirit of cooperation among our countries as the EAC. I thank the various individuals and friends of East Africa who have made this happen, led by the respective heads of State of East Africa. Now, I call upon all Ugandans to pull together in the same direction to ensure that we are ready to host in 2027.”
President Yoweri Museveni also praised the news as a win for the region especially regarding the potential it has to boost tourism.
He said: “I received good news that our joint bid with Kenya and Tanzania to host the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 2027 was successful. I thank the organizers for putting up a good case for East Africa. This will promote our countries and positively impact our economies, especially the tourism sector.”
