Uganda’s preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations are entering a decisive phase away from the stadiums, with Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) warning that a funding gap and decades-old passenger coaches could undermine plans to move thousands of supporters between Kampala and Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
Government has provided for Shs23.33 billion to upgrade and maintain the Central Terminal, Kampala-Mukono railway line, Namanve Station and a Namboole halt as part of measures to ease pressure on the congested Kampala-Jinja corridor during the tournament. State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang announced the allocation to Parliament in April.
But URC managing director Benon Kajuna says approval has not yet translated into money available for all the required works.
“They have approved Shs23 billion for works and also rehabilitation of the coaches, but then they are saying the money is not there,” Kajuna told a parliamentary committee.
The timing is significant because the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has placed August at the centre of the next readiness test for Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Following a ministerial kick-off meeting in Kampala on April 22-23, CAF and the three hosts identified August 2026 as a “key milestone review point”, with attention extending beyond stadiums to transport networks, airports, accommodation, security, hospitality and movement of supporters.
That pressure was reinforced on May 13 when CAF President Patrice Motsepe and government and football leaders from the three countries established the PAMOJA Oversight Committee in Nairobi.
Under the agreed roadmap, CAF said major milestones should be achieved by the end of August, including accelerated infrastructure development, confirmation of host venues and operational plans, cross-border arrangements covering immigration and mobility, and delivery of core tournament services.
For Uganda, the railway sits squarely inside that test; Namboole lies on one of Kampala’s busiest transport corridors, where heavy traffic routinely causes delays.
A functioning Kampala-Mukono commuter service, with a halt serving the stadium, could provide an alternative for match-going supporters, but Kajuna says URC’s passenger rolling stock is far below what an event of AFCON’s scale requires.
“The coaches which are there are from the 1970s or 1980s. They are very old,” Kajuna said.
During parliamentary scrutiny of the corporation this month, Kajuna said URC operates only five passenger coaches and is seeking a service provider to supply 20 more at an estimated Shs82 billion, although that money has not been secured.
“The cost estimate is about Shs82 billion, but we haven’t got the money,” Kajuna told MPs.
The difficulty is part of a wider capacity challenge at URC.
Kajuna told lawmakers that the corporation has only four mainline locomotives against what he described as a minimum requirement of about 15, with ageing equipment also driving up fuel and maintenance costs.
Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) has nevertheless recognised the potential of rail to ease Kampala’s transport burden.
After travelling on the Kampala-Mukono route, committee chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi said a functional railway could “improve transport, not only for goods but also for Ugandans”.
The rail project is only one component of Uganda’s much larger AFCON programme. Ogwang told Parliament on April 15 that government had committed Shs905 billion in the 2026/27 budget, including Shs213 billion for about 47.53 kilometres of selected roads around Namboole and Hoima City Stadium.
Another Shs184.9 billion for a passenger terminal and operationalisation of Kabalega International Airport, Shs56.2 billion for further remodelling of Namboole and Shs5.2 billion for upgrading Kadiba Stadium as a training facility.
“We shall continue to provide regular updates on progress, key milestones, and emerging implementation issues as preparations advance,” Ogwang told Parliament.
CAF, however, has increasingly shifted the conversation from allocations to actual delivery. At the Kampala kick-off meeting in April, acting CAF General Secretary Samson Adamu warned that AFCON would demand significantly more than the CHAN tournament staged by the three countries in 2025.
“AFCON is a completely different tournament with different expectations,” Adamu said, pointing to more teams, supporters, media and operational requirements.
Former Uganda Cranes captain Denis Onyango has also framed improved transport as part of the tournament’s intended legacy.
In an interview published by CAF in June, Onyango said hosting AFCON should “help develop transport systems and road networks” across the three countries while producing wider economic benefits.
AFCON 2027 will run from June 19 to July 17, 2027, becoming the first edition of the tournament jointly hosted by three countries.
