LIRA, Uganda — A major sports project in northern Uganda is beginning to rise from the ground. The Akii Bua Olympic City Stadium in Lira City has reached 25 percent completion, according to Sports Minister Peter Ogwang, who says the facility is on track to play a key role when Uganda co-hosts the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“Akii Bua Olympic City Stadium in Lira City is taking shape with works currently at 25%,” Ogwang announced on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The 20,000-seat arena is one of two new stadiums under construction for the tournament, which Uganda will host jointly with Kenya and Tanzania. Work on the second venue, in Hoima City, is almost finished at 95 percent. But Ogwang told reporters this week that visits to the Hoima site had been suspended after the contractor, Turkey-based Summa, warned that a constant flow of political delegations was eating into valuable construction time.
A stadium named for Uganda’s Olympic hero
The new Lira complex carries the name of John Akii-Bua, Uganda’s trailblazing 400-meter hurdler who shocked the world by winning gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Akii-Bua was the first African to win Olympic gold in a race shorter than 800 meters, and his record in the hurdles still stands in Uganda. He is also remembered for popularizing the post-race victory lap tradition now common in athletics.
The project is being carried out by Egypt’s SAMCO National Construction Company under a contract worth 470 billion Ugandan shillings — about $129 million. Work officially started in December 2024, with President Yoweri Museveni leading a groundbreaking ceremony the following January.
More than just a football pitch
When complete, the Akii Bua Olympic Stadium is expected to be more than a football ground. Plans call for an eight-lane athletics track, a 2,000-seat indoor arena, a semi-Olympic swimming pool, and outdoor courts for basketball, netball, volleyball and badminton. Parking will accommodate about 1,000 vehicles.
The stadium sits on 18.5 hectares of land in central Lira, on the John Akii Bua Playground. It is expected to serve both soccer and track-and-field competitions during AFCON 2027, while also offering a long-term base for athletics in Uganda’s north.
President Museveni has said that while Lira’s stadium was initially prioritized for its historical significance — honoring Akii-Bua’s legacy — Uganda’s successful AFCON bid made it necessary to expand preparations, with Hoima chosen as an additional host city because of its proximity to a new airport.
For the Basoga, Baganda, and many across Uganda, the project is being seen as a statement of the country’s growing ambitions in sport. For Lira itself, it represents an opportunity to honor a hometown hero while finally putting the Lango sub-region on the international sporting map.
