Philip Omondi Stadium’s exclusion from Uganda’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 training venue shortlist has been traced to a firm directive from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and a stalemate over surface upgrades.
State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang has revealed that the stadium was initially part of Uganda’s proposed infrastructure plan for the tournament, which the country will co-host with Kenya and Tanzania. However, evolving CAF technical requirements ultimately reshaped the list.
Appearing before Parliament’s Budget Committee, Ogwang explained that Omondi was considered in the early stages of venue identification, before CAF issued stricter guidance on acceptable training facilities.
“At the first phase of identifying training pitches for Afcon, Philip Omondi Stadium was among those we had selected,” Ogwang said.
“However, after further guidance from Caf, it was made clear that training facilities must have natural grass to qualify.”
That clarification forced government into talks with KCCA Football Club, the stadium’s custodians, to explore the possibility of replacing the existing artificial surface with natural turf. The discussions, however, failed to produce consensus.
“We had an engagement with the management of KCCA Football Club, but they were not ready to allow Philip Omondi Stadium to be upgraded to have natural grass pitches,” he said.
With CAF’s conditions non-negotiable and timelines tightening, government officials opted to reallocate AFCON-related funding to venues already aligned with the continental body’s standards.
“As government, we had to look for alternative venues that fit within the guidance given by the Confederation of African Football.”
Ogwang confirmed that Philip Omondi Stadium has now been formally struck off all AFCON 2027 infrastructure plans, with resources redirected to approved facilities.
The training venues that made the final cut for AFCON 2027 preparations are Gulu University, Lira University, Pece Stadium, Kyambogo University, Muteesa II Stadium, Makerere University, and FUFA Stadium, Kadiba, all of which meet CAF’s natural grass requirement.
