As Uganda gears up to co-host the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON PAMOJA 2027 in Kampala and Hoima, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is giving potential service providers a chance to become stakeholders in this first-of-its-kind opportunity for Uganda and the region.
According to Dr Dennis K. Mugimba, who chairs the Communications and Promotion Sub-Committee for the Afcon/CHAN Local Organising Committee, CAF is asking reputable potential suppliers of goods or services to formally express interest.
Potential suppliers will be required to register with CAF by submitting a Request for Information (RFI), so that they are included in the database of prospective suppliers.
“It is important to note that only potential suppliers who have registered with CAF through its official website https://cafonline.com/inside-caf/about- us/official-documents/tenders will be notified by email about tenders once they have been released.
Potential suppliers who do not submit their RFI profiles prior to publication of the respective tenders will not be eligible for consideration as suppliers,” Mugimba, who addressed the press at the Media Centre on May 19, said.
Uganda has never hosted a tournament of this scale, and as the country co-hosts with Tanzania and Kenya, Afcon 2027 is expected to be a huge game changer in business, tourism, hospitality and of course sports, for the region.
“The potential supplier may execute services in PAMOJA, other African countries, Europe, America, or Asia,” Mugimba said.
Successful bidders will provide services including catering services ticketing solutions, equipment, translation, communication, digital, broadcasting, hotels and accommodation. Others are hospitality programme, transportation and logistics, event operations, fan zones management, IT and technology solutions, branding, printing, and signage, concession management service, as well as equipment and general supplies.
Mugimba said, once the procurement process is initiated, separate documentation shall be required and submission shall be through the CAF website.
“For avoidance of doubt, this [free of charge] RFI is strictly about services and goods being procured by CAF and not the Local Organizing Committee. At an appropriate time, the LOC shall issue its own call for information for services and goods to be executed exclusively in Uganda,” he said.
Mugimba also reminded proprietors of potential tourist accommodation facilities to seek proper accreditation from Uganda Tourism Board, before they can become service providers for Afcon.
“You do not become an Airbnb or Booking.com service provider by simply referring to yourself as one. You apply, get assessed against a set of quality standards before they list you on their respective platforms,” he said.
Progress on AFCON-2027 preparations:
With guidance from CAF, Uganda is making great progress in completing all requirements for the designated sports stadia – Akii-Bua, Namboole, and Hoima City Stadium.
Mugimba said all training facilities except FUFA Kadiba stadium and Sir Tito Winyi S. S. grounds have already been handed over to the UPDF Civil Engineering Brigade and work is progressing well.
He also said contractors for the upgrades of Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Masindi General Hospital and Buseruka Health Centre III, as well as access roadworks around Hoima City Stadium and Namboole, have been identified and shall be awarded contracts soon.
“CAF has provided invaluable input to the LOC in determining the scope of works for upgrade of select hotels in Hoima-Masindi cluster. A final list of no more than twelve hotels has been recommended to the Uganda Development Bank for consideration of access to the government credit facility. The beneficiary hotels shall be made known to the public for accountability,” he said.