On a chilly Tuesday, a handful of enthusiastic residents (including children) are eagerly awaiting on a mushy piece of land, encompassed by buildings and a swamp like environ.
In the vicinity, overlooks an assemblage of different plant species and a housing settlement with the roof top of the famous Namirembe Cathedral envisaged.
The land, measuring 2.5 hectares that the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) commissioned, onto which a $ 4.4 ( Shs 15.4) project for a training center has commenced.
This is in the heart of Kampala City, the capital of Uganda on the famous Cathedral ground, popularly christened as the Kadiba in Rubaga division.
Credit the process of how the federation acquired this land to full divine blessings after mutual lease agreement from Namirembe Cathedral under the protestant church.
For starters the church officially handed over the land to the football body on Wednesday, 13th January 2016 after officially unveiling a long term partnership with Namirembe Cathedral to own the swampy football ground for development within a lease epoch of more than 30 years.
Back then, the Dean of Namirembe Cathedral, The Very Rev. Canon Benon Kityo labored to elucidate long rich history how the Church is associated with football growth Uganda tracing the origins to as far back as 1887.
During the official ground breaking ceremony on Tuesday, 24th April 2018, the Vicar Reverend Festo Kalungi from Namirembe Cathedral expressed gratitude of how the church has been instrumental towards football development in Uganda as far back as the days of Archbishop Walker in 1887.
Quoted by the FUFA website, Vicar Reverend Kalungi noted;
On behalf of the church, I stand to welcome FUFA on this day. We know that this place will not only benefit people who live here but the entire country at large. We believe the facility will be a unifying factor and we pray that it is put to good use
Present at this landmark event was the FUFA President Moses Magogo, FUFE CEO Edgar Watson, FUFA Executive committee members, staff, media personnel and residents.
According to the head of FUFA Projects, Justus Mugisha, the Kadiba project will cost $ 4.4 (Shs. 15.4) under Chreigns Construction Company as the main contractors and Point Plus Associates (did the consultations).
This the third FUFA construction project happening concurrently with the $ 200,000 (Shs 720M) Kitubulu beach soccer facility in Entebbe and the $ 1M (Shs 3.6 Billion) Lugazi 20,000 seater stadium.
All these developments are happening at a time when the federation procured land measuring to 1500 square metres, just adjacent to the current FUFA Headquarters in Mengo, Kampala.
FUFA Media
Group photoWhat they said:
Moses Hassim Magogo (FUFA President and CAF Executive Committee Member):
I played football on this very ground for so many years but I am happy that FUFA will have a state of the art training facility here. The FIFA President Gianni Infantino laid a foundation stone here last year and he follows every development that takes place here.There are so many authorizations that we have undertaken up to this level and we have the belief that we shall come back here to open the facility when the construction works are done.
Hon. Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi (Minister for Youth and Children affairs and third FUFA Vice President):
We thank the Church for offering the land because we believe by setting up such facilities, Uganda as a country will nurture more talents and give employment opportunities to the youth who constitute the biggest percentage of the population.
Festo Kalungi (Vicar Reverend, Namirembe Cathedral):
On behalf of the church, I stand to welcome FUFA on this day. We know that this place will not only benefit people who live here but the entire country at large. We believe the facility will be a unifying factor and we pray that it is put to good use.
Justus Mugisha (FUFA Head of Projects, First FUFA Vice President):
We approached Namirembe Diocese and they made no objection to avail us the land. We have gone all through preliminaries including consultations with Point Plus Associates, contractors (Chreigns Construction Company) and already secured funds from FIFA to kick start the project.
