The sports sub-sector under the new 2024/2025 financial year will prioritize infrastructural development.

Uganda’s new budget for the financial year 2024/2025 estimated at 72 trillion was read on Wednesday, June 13 by President Museveni at Kololo Independence grounds.

For the first time, sports, a sub-sector under the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoeS) is to have its best-ever budget.

Construction of Hoima Stadium which is part of Uganda’s joint PAMOJA bid to host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with East Africa neighbours Kenya and Tanzania tops the projects to be worked on.

The Hoima Stadium is among the stadia to be used by Uganda in hosting AFCON 2027 and will cost shs 280bn upon a projected completion date of December, 31st 2025.

Early this year, Parliament approved a supplementary budget of 152b to start the Hoima stadium project.

Besides Hoima Stadium, the new budget approved USD 30m approximately shs 114bn as commitment fees for Uganda to host AFCON 2027 that is to be paid by each of the three hosts of the East African Countries.

The new budget also approved sh790bn for the re-development of Lugogo Sports Complex which also has to build a new MTN indoor arena, Lugogo Cricket Oval, Lugogo hockey ground, a boxing gym, and various courts.

Dr Patrick Ogwel, the National Council of Sports (NCS) General Secretary is confident the new sports budget is a blessing to the sector given the fact that 85% of its subventions will be directed to infrastructure development.

“Right now, I don’t want to go deep into the breakdown of the sports budget but what I’m sure of is that more than 85% is going to be injected into developing stadiums, Pamoja bid and the rest,” Ogwel told Vision Sports.

There is also sh110 bn approved to cater for the construction of 11 support training grounds countrywide for AFCON 2027.

Other infrastructures listed in the new budget include shs100bn for construction of Buhinga Stadium in Kabarole and Akii-Bua Stadium in Lira which were under the failed China government grant project.

The new budget will see national sports federations receive a total of sh 22bn as support from the government to run their activities.

Sh9.19 bn will support major international events which includes the 2024 Paris Olympic games to be held in France between July and August this year, sh3bn for the Anti-doping organization, sh2bn to support and reward excelling athletes, sh1.7 bn in wage and gratuity for NCS employees among others.