The facility has been closed to the public since May 2019 after the Confederation of African Federation (CAF) and Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) disqualified the venue from hosting the forthcoming 2022 world cup qualifiers and any other international football game, saying the facility is substandard.
Nelson Mandela Stadium better known as Namboole refurbishment works is giving the facility a whole new look and a worthy status of its glory.
Namboole stadium refurbishment
St Mary’s Stadium met the requirements and saved the country the inconvenience of hosting home games in a neighbouring country.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ministry of Health turned it into a reception centre.
The UPDF Engineering Brigade is currently refurbishing the facility.
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In a tweet by newly appointed sports minister Peter Ogwang, he shared photos of progress of the works.
Namboole stadium refurbishment
Pulse
“Have today met and interacted with the Board members of Namboole Stadium and also, inspected ongoing refurbishment works at the sports facility which is being done by UPDF Engineering Brigade. We have agreed on several action points to return the facility to its former glory”, he tweeted.
According to reports, the project for renovating and upgrading the stadium stands at Shs97bn.
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What makes a stadium fit for Caf approval?
· Among the key requirements include the pitch condition emphasizing that the surface whether artificial turf or not, must be green and marked clearly in white.
· Uniform signage system around the stadium to entry and exit, operational gates.
· For evening matches, the floodlights capacity should be a minimum of 1 200 Lux provided all over the pitch, covering uniformly every area of the playing field.
Namboole stadium refurbishment
Pulse
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· Installation of stadium specific sign-age from media entrance to all the various facilities for the media.
Installation of sign-age around the medical facility and throughout the stadium to notify supporters.
· A doping room which must be near the teams’ dressing rooms and must be “inaccessible to any person that is not involved with the doping control process”. It must be equipped with a television set, a refrigerator equipped with non-alcoholic drinks, sealed mineral water bottles, waste-paper bin for bottles, a ventilator and sufficient seating for at least eight people.
· The toilet area must be immediately next to the doping control room with direct private access
· Numbered bucket seats fixed to the floor as well as a safety certificate from the concerned authorities in which they will set the permitted capacity for the stadium together with detailed terms and conditions that the stadium management must comply with in order to operate the stadium at its permitted capacity.
