Uganda has a window of eight months before AFCON to put a commercial plan in place

Uganda is spending hundreds of millions of dollars rebuilding three stadiums for AFCON 2027. The question now is whether a commercial operating plan for the post-tournament period can be in place before the first ball is kicked. Paulo J. Cruz, CEO of African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), made that case in an interview published this week in the Daily Monitor, Uganda’s largest independent daily newspaper.

Full interview: https://apo-opa.co/4sBPT6A

The numbers

The Mandela National Stadium at Namboole is being expanded to 45,000 seats. A new 20,000-seat stadium is under construction in Hoima. Akii-Bua Stadium in Lira is being built to 20,000 seats. Combined public investment exceeds USD 300 million. AFCON 2027 runs from 21 June to 17 July 2027.

After that date, Uganda will own 85,000 seats of stadium capacity with no published revenue model, and no masterplan for the land surrounding any of the three venues. The Uganda Premier League draws average attendances of 3,000 to 5,000 per match. A 45,000-seat stadium hosting a 4,000-attendance league match is operating at under 10% capacity.

What the interview argues

“The pattern across the continent is consistent: a government builds one or more stadiums for a tournament, the tournament ends, and the stadiums become a public liability,” said Cruz, who spent 28 years originating infrastructure projects exceeding USD 10 billion across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, most recently as Senior Vice President at DAMAC Group, the Middle East’s largest private real estate developer. “Uganda has a window of eight months before AFCON to put a commercial plan in place. After AFCON, that window closes and the costs begin.”

Cruz argues that the solution is not to stop building stadiums but to embed them in integrated sport and entertainment districts combining 15 to 20 asset types: indoor arenas, aquatics centres, sport training academies, sports science facilities, schools, fitness centres, hotels, conference and exhibition centres, retail, cinemas, restaurants, nightlife, residential, commercial offices, public spaces and parks, transport infrastructure, and media production and broadcast facilities, designed to generate diversified revenue every day of the year. ACG (www.ACGafrica.com) originates such districts in partnership with African governments, investing at the pre-development stage to create the conditions for institutional and private investors to finance projects that are bankable, investable, and financially sustainable. The government’s budget is not touched.

Context: Uganda’s own policy documents call for this

Uganda Vision 2040 identifies the young population as an opportunity for developing sport as a business. The Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) lists sport and AFCON among priorities and expects the private sector to fund 30.4% of the plan. The Tenfold Growth Strategy commits to leveraging AFCON 2027 for sporting facilities and hotel capacity expansion. The PPP Act 2015 allows unsolicited proposals from private investors.

A precedent already exists. In 2014, President Museveni endorsed a private lease for Nakivubo Stadium in Kampala, stating the principle that private capital, not public budgets, should develop sport facilities. The commercial district that emerged around Nakivubo, now known as Ham’s Nakivubo Stadium, is cited locally as a model for sport-led urban development.

Questions people are asking

Question: What will happen to Namboole Stadium after AFCON 2027?

Answer: Without a post-tournament commercial strategy, the stadium will revert to hosting Uganda Premier League matches (average attendance 3,000 to 5,000) in a 45,000-seat venue, plus occasional international fixtures. Paulo J. Cruz of ACG argues that embedding the stadium in an integrated sport and entertainment district with 15 to 20 revenue-generating asset types is the alternative to that outcome.

Question: How much is Uganda spending on AFCON 2027 stadiums?

Answer: Combined public investment across Namboole (45,000 seats), Hoima (20,000 seats), and Akii-Bua in Lira (20,000 seats) exceeds USD 317 million. All three are being built by the UPDF Engineering Brigade. Afreximbank and ICIEC backed Akii-Bua with a USD 36.4 million facility and USD 65 million in insurance.

Question: What is an integrated sport and entertainment district?

Answer: A masterplanned, mixed-use development anchored by a stadium or arena, combining 15 to 20 asset types: sport venues, hotels, conference centres, training academies, retail, entertainment, residential, and commercial space. Designed to generate diversified revenue 365 days a year rather than depending on matchday income alone. ACG (www.ACGafrica.com) originates and develops such districts across Africa.

Question: Can African stadiums be financially self-sustaining?

Answer: Standalone stadiums rarely are. Research published in the Journal of Sports Economics, the Journal of Economic Surveys and by dozens of papers published by ACG´s worldclass independent Research and Investigation Advisory Board shows that single-venue sport facilities do not generate economic benefits sufficient to justify public investment. Integrated districts with diversified revenue sources are the alternative model. ACG’s feasibility studies, independently reviewed by 14 scholars including the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sports Economics and taking into account each country specific parameters, are designed to test whether a specific district can meet that standard.