In 2015 Ham Group of Companies founder and CEO Hamis Kiggundu visited State House seeking political blessing from President Museveni to redevelop Nakivubo Stadium.

Two years later, the stands of what was the old ‘war memorial stadium’ was eventually erased giving way to the redevelopment that has continued to-date and eventually gave birth to a multi-billion facility that has changed the face of downtown Kampala.

The stadium’s strategic location in the heart of Kampala and its rich history in Ugandan football will soon be reignited when works finally soon come to an end. The facility has already played a key role in the AFCON 2027 East Africa Pamoja bid and with its modernized and unique amenities like a modern artificial turf, VIP boxes, VVIP and executive boxes, restaurants, cafeterias among others; are going to raise the profile for football infrastructure in the country.

Now, President Museveni who blessed the project 8 years ago is set to commission the project at the end of this month following a meeting with the developer Kiggundu, at State House.

This was one of the meetings the president will hold with different stakeholders in preparation for AFCON 2027 that Uganda will co-host with Kenya and Tanzania. 

Kiggundu who eight years ago visited State House with just paper work could not hide his excitement after meeting the president with a complete documentation of the completed works.

“I’m happy that the president who gave me the political blessing before the redevelopment is the one that is going to commission the project; I’m humbled and honoured,” Kiggundu said.

“I thank the president for believing in me and giving me his full political blessing at the start of this project. Despite many people having doubted that I couldn’t do it, I have done it and others should follow suit and do the same because this stands as a legacy and an illustration that together we can develop our country; For God and my Country,” Kiggundu stated.

Apart from the football stadium that has now been turned into an all-seater facility and installed with a FIFA-approved artificial turf among other amenities, games like netball and basketball have also benefited from the re-development.  

The stadium developer has also constructed two all-weather multi-purpose standard courts with an epoxy finishing smooth surface for basketball and netball but which can also be used for other sports like volleyball and badminton behind the goal posts of the football field. Up to 7000 fans can comfortably watch either a netball or basketball game at each section of the stands during the day or at night.

There are also different dressing rooms for the two courts on top of refreshing points, toilets and security (including CCTV cameras) to monitor what is going on.