HOIMA GEARS UP FOR AFCON 2027

By Josepha Jabo

Hoima City Stadium is truly a beautiful sight to behold and is currently the number one attraction in Hoima. It meets international standards and what is even more remarkable is that it took only fourteen months to build by SUMMA, a Turkish company. It is at this very stadium where the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2027) will be hosted live. However, the stadium is multi-purpose and can also host non-sporting events.

After appropriation and approval by the Parliament of Uganda, Shs152 billion was released from the Petroleum Fund in May 2024 to build Hoima City Stadium, which is the biggest investment from the Petroleum Fund, so far.

From 3rd-7th August, 2026, the Judiciary undertook a field visit, to acclimatize themselves with Uganda’s oil and gas region in partnership with Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), Bank of Uganda (BoU) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The Chief Justice, Honorable Justice Dr. Flavian Zeija, the Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, the Chairperson of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) Governing Council, Hon. Justice Michael Chibita, the Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs PAU, Mr. Ali Ssekatawa, Uganda Media Centre and other stakeholders participated.

On Tuesday, 4th August, 2026, the Chairperson of the National Council of Sports (NCS), Mr. Ambrose Tashobya, took us on a guided tour of Hoima City Stadium. We began in the Sports Arena, whose grey and orange seats are in two categories. There are fixed seats.

There are also hidden, retractable seats, which emerge at the press of a button, to increase the seating capacity to full capacity during sporting competitions, to seat 2,000 spectators. “All indoor sports can be played in this arena; basketball, netball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, martial arts, boxing and kickboxing,” Tashobya said. The arena also has space for People with Disabilities (PwDs) and a media space on the balcony for journalists.

The oval-shaped Sports Stadium that seats 20,000 spectators has a rectangular football pitch at the centre, surrounded by an oval running track, dugouts, raised scoreboards and floodlights. The stadium’s football pitch has hybrid grass. “To make the pitch firm, we lay a synthetic carpet and plant real grass in there, so that when the roots grow, they intertwine with the carpet, to anchor the roots. So that even if you do a sliding tackle, you will not see a chunk of soil, like with natural pitches,” Tashobya explained. Later on, the Chief Justice had a wonderful time playing football on the pitch.

The stadium has a fitness centre, with indoor gym machines, where the Chief Justice, the Principal Judge, Hon. Lady Justice Jane Frances Abodo and Hon. Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire cycled on three spin bikes, much to the delight of onlookers.

Some walls in the stadium are adorned with colourful murals of athletes at play. For active male and female players, there are four sets of changing rooms; each with laundry chutes and lockers underneath each seat, hand washbasins, showers, toilets, urinals, physiotherapy beds, ice boxes to treat injured players and a coaches’ office.

There is a soundproofed, conference room with studio lights and a projector, where coaches and players can hold après match press conferences with the media. Other amenities include: entry and exit gates, car parks, a cafeteria, athletics rest room, a training pitch, a swimming pool, doping control, a medical room, a TV studio, Wi-Fi, a protocol room, plus VIP and VVIP lounges with sofa sets.

There are twelve skyboxes for hire, each skybox can accommodate up to twelve people and is served by a kitchen. The Presidential Suite is reserved exclusively for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s private viewing of games with his guests. President Museveni officially opened this stadium on Wednesday, December 24, 2025.

The stadium’s computerized Security Surveillance Room, manned by Uganda Police Force and an ICT team, has 279 security cameras, with facial recognition system; a public address system that can reach all zones for announcements or evacuation, an emergency call system, with a red telephone connected to push-to-call buttons within the stadium; a fire alarm system, access control using visitors’ cards, a lighting automation system, to beautify the stadium with a light show at night; and building management system software, to control the stadium remotely (air conditioning, lights, generators and pitch irrigation) from one central point. The stadium also has motion sensors, to conserve energy. For instance, as you approach the washrooms, the lights automatically turn on, a few seconds after you leave, the lights automatically turn off.

Tashobya called the Very Important Person (VIP) dining area, “The biggest restaurant in Western Uganda,” which is where the NCS dinner in honor of the Chief Justice was held that evening. AFCON 2027 will be the first continental event hosted by the stadium. The stadium was constructed in Hoima District, to be in close proximity to Kabalega International Airport, which is in the same district.

“Kabalega International Airport is 98.8% complete,” The SBC Uganda Public Relations Officer, Mr. Amos Muriisa informed us. However, Government of Uganda deemed the existing terminal building at the airport that was built to serve both cargo and passengers, insufficient to handle the large number of passengers that are expected to fly into the country during AFCON 2027. Therefore, government has decided to quickly construct a second terminal building for passengers. “The contractor is almost starting, the second terminal will be ready by the middle of next year, to receive 1,000 passengers per peak hour,” Muriisa added.

In addition, a number of hotel investors have expressed interest in constructing within Kabalega Industrial Park in preparation for AFCON 2027. Currently, six five-star hotels in Hoima and Masindi are being upgraded or constructed ahead of AFCON 2027.

Other stadiums to be used during AFCON 2027 are Mandela National Stadium (Namboole) and Akii Bua Olympic Stadium. Furthermore, Hoima Regional Referral Hospital is receiving an infrastructural upgrade.

The writer works for Uganda Media Centre