Football fans were left dissatisfied and angry on Monday August 4,as Uganda played against Algeria in a Total Energies CHAN Group stage match at Mandela National Stadium in Namboole.
The dissatisfaction came after many supporters who turned up could not access anything to eat or drink due to the stringent measures put in place by the Local Organizing Committee that banned food vendors within the premises of the stadium.
From being disappointed with the match day results after Uganda losing to Algeria by 3 goals to nil, the fans decided to take their rant to social media and turned their anger to the organisers who denied them access to food and drinks.
After careful analysis of the situation, the Local Organizing Committee of CHAN in Uganda has now bowed down to pressure. During a press conference held in Kampala on Thursday morning, the Committee apologized to the public for the unfortunate experience on the first game day at Namboole.
“As the Local Organizing Committee,we regret the unfortunate incident on Monday when fans did not find food and drinks available in the Stadium kiosks.The LOC together with CAF is ensuring that the kiosks within the stadium are fully operational for the next games;and that the service providers are compliant with the expected standards of a competition of this magnitude,” said Dr Denis Mugimba the Chairperson,Communications and Signage Sub-committee.
“As a LOC, we have agreed with the Management of Namboole Stadium and CAF that no fee shall be charged to the service providers in the kiosks. Therefore, we also expect them to see reduced prices for the drinks and foods sold to fans who come to the stadium.We thank you and urge you to buy your ticket.” he added.
Uganda Cranes will face Guinea on Friday at 8:00 PM in their second match in Group C. Algeria will tussle it out first with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana at 5:00 PM.
