By Francis Lubega
30th March 2023
The Speaker of Parliament Anita among has threatened to block budgets relating to the development of football pitches until the government provides accountability for Shs97billion meant for renovating Namboole Stadium.
Among says she will ensure that no budget related to football is approved and passed in parliament until the government responds positively and also provides a comprehensive report on all money released to develop other regional pitches.
The Shs97bn rehabilitation project of Mandela National Stadium Namboole kicked off in January 2022 nearly two years after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) blacklisted the stadium from hosting because it was substandard.
The Federation of Uganda Football Association –FUFA hired Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Egypt for the national team host their home games until Namboole Stadium is completed following St. Mary’s stadium Kitende, which was Uganda Cranes’ home ground, did not meet CAF requirements to host the matches, leaving the National team homeless.
On Wednesday, the MPs condemned the act of the Uganda Cranes Football team hosting the Tanzania team the Taifa Stars in Egypt in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers where they were defeated by one goal to nil (1-0).
MPs noted that it was embarrassing and disgusting for a national team and the country at large to host a home game in a foreign country.
It’s from this that the Speaker Among appointed a team of four MPs led by the Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga to conduct a field tour of Namboole and later present a report to Parliament on the status of the stadium’s rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, the State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang apologized to Ugandans for the act of hosting Tanzania in Egypt and promised that the next match of the national team against Algeria in June of this month will be hosted in Namboole Stadium.
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