KCCA stadium to be officially opened

A top team from east, north or southern Africa will take on KCCA FC in August when the Phillip Omondi Stadium in Lugogo is officially opened.

This follows the world governing football body FIFA approving the artificial turf stadium late last month for competitive and official matches.

KCCA FC chairman Julius Kabugo told New Vision that out of the clubs they invited, only Sudanese giants Al-Merrikh confirmed albeit informally.

"We got a call from the leadership of Al-Merrikh that they will be able to come for the game. But we can't rely on them unless when they officially write to us. But the official date of the game will be announced soon. It will be played in August," Kabugo stated.

He added that they expect by the end of this week to announce what team they will face.

AS Kigali and Police FC both from Rwanda, Al Khartoum Al Watani (Sudan) and Nkana Red Devils (Zambia) are some of the other teams they contacted but there are still waiting for their replies.

Last year, KCCA FC through FUFA and FIFA decided to upgrade the stadium to an artificial turf.

The stadium upgrade estimated to have cost sh1.3b was part of the FIFA Challenger Project. KCCA met the tax component of the project with sh320m.

The artificial turf is the second similar playing surface in Uganda after Njeru Technical centre in Jinja.

The club management plans to have floodlights installed at the venue. The lifespan of the artificial turf stadium at Lugogo is more than 20 years.