Mandela National Stadium

Multi-purpose stadium in Kampala, Uganda

For the stadium located in Algeria, see Nelson Mandela Stadium. For the stadium in South Africa, see Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Mandela National Stadium

Namboole Stadium

Fans leaving Mandela National Stadium in 2019

Mandela National Stadium

Location within Uganda

Full name| Mandela National Stadium
Former names| Namboole National Stadium (1997-2013)
Location| Bweyogerere
Kira Municipality
Central Region
Uganda
Coordinates| 00°20′52″N 32°39′33″E﻿ / ﻿0.34778°N 32.65917°E﻿ / 0.34778; 32.65917[1]
Capacity| 42,000[2]
Record attendance| 50,000 (Uganda vs South Africa, 10 October 2004)
Surface| Grass
Construction
Opened| 1997[2]
Renovated| 2010–11, 2022–2024
Construction cost| US$36 Million[2]
Main contractors| Chinese construction company
Tenants
Uganda national football team (1997-present)
SC Villa (2024-present)
Website
Homepage

The Mandela National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Uganda. It is named after the former South African President and anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela.[3] The stadium's record attendance of 50,000 was set in 2004, in a football match between the national football teams of Uganda and South Africa.[4]

## Location

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The stadium is located on Namboole Hill in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District. The stadium is approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi), by road, east of the central business district of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.[5]

## Overview

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Mandela National Stadium is mainly used for soccer matches, although other sports such as athletics are also practised. The stadium has a capacity of 45,202 by 2016 before renovation.[2] After renovation in May 2024 which involved putting permanent seats, the capacity decreased to 42,000 seats.[6] The stadium is home to the Uganda national football team, known as the Uganda Cranes.[7]

The stadium was built with a grant of US$36 million from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Originally it was called Namboole Stadium, getting its name from the hill on which it was built. It is now officially called Mandela National Stadium, named after the former South African president, Nelson Mandela. It was opened in 1997 with a concert by Lucky Dube, a reggae artist from South Africa.[2]

Uganda fan inside the stadium

The stadium was refurbished in 2010–11, with a US$2.8 million grant from the PRC.[8]

A committee of the Ugandan parliament reported in 2015 that the stadium was on the verge of financial collapse, claiming that the stadium had suffered from more than a decade of "mismanagement and wanton abuse" and incurred losses totaling UGX:3.6 billion.[9] Running the stadium profitably in a private-public partnership arrangement remains a challenge.[10]

Namboole Stadium was closed for renovation in 2019 after the outbreak of COVID-19 since it did not reach the minimum standards fo CAF to host games.[11] Then 2020, the stadium was blacklisted from hosting football matches due to a substandard state.[12] The reconstruction works, taken by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, have started in 2022, including the installation of a permanent seats in the stadium, new dressing rooms, scoreboard, as well as refreshing the floodlights and the pitch.[12] The renovation of between 2019 and 2024 costed 97 billion Uganda Shillings.[13] After its renovation, the Federation Of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) organized test matches from the Uganda premier League to serve as test events of the stadium before the official opening. The games were played on 1 May 2024 where BUL Fc hosted Vipers Sc, and KCCA FC hosted SC Villa which served as a requirement for the Confederation Of African Football (CAF) to grant the stadium permission to host International Games. A month later, Uganda Cranes returned at Namboole hosting Botswana in the World Cup qualifiers and Algeria a week after.[14]

At the start of 2024-25 Uganda Premier League Season, SC Villa registered for Namboole to serve as their home ground.[15]

## See also

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* List of African stadiums by capacity
* List of stadiums in Africa

## References

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1. ^ "Location of Mandela National Stadium, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
2. ^ a b c d e Stadiumdb.com (26 October 2016). "Nelson Mandela National Stadium (Namboole)". Stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
3. ^ Bakama, James (7 December 2013). "Ugandan sports will miss Mandela". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
4. ^ "Uganda national football team statistics and records: Attendances".
5. ^ "Distance between Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda and Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Central Region, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
6. ^ Isabirye, David (22 November 2023). "Sports Facilities: Mandela National Stadium Namboole renovation garners momentum". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
7. ^ "Pictorial: The Historical Day At Namboole As Uganda Cranes Qualified For AFCON 2017 In Gabon". The Red Pepper Newspaper. Mukono. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
8. ^ Bakama, James (1 August 2010). "Mandela stadium facelift commences". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
9. ^ Mwesigwa, Alon (27 May 2015). "Mandela Stadium at the edge of collapse". The Observer (Uganda). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
10. ^ Igasira, Neville (1 December 2013). "The woes of running a multi-sports stadium". East African Business Week. Kampala. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
11. ^ Muyita, Joel (24 April 2024). "FUFA confirms Uganda Premier League games to be used in soft opening of Mandela National Stadium". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
12. ^ a b "Namboole stadium to be ready by June – UPDF Engineering Brigade". The Independent. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
13. ^ "Mandela National Stadium Test: Government invests UGX 97 billion in renovation". NTV Uganda. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
14. ^ "Namboole Stadium to host two test matches next month". ChimpReports. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
15. ^ Kiyonga, Ismael (15 July 2024). "Two UPL giants register Nakivubo as new home". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2024.

## External links

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* Photo at cafe.daum.net/stade
* Photo at worldstadiums.com
* Photo at fussballtempel.net
* Photo at pbase.com

* v
* t
* e

2027 Africa Cup of Nations stadiums

Kenya|

* Moi International Sports Centre (Nairobi)
* Nyayo National Stadium (Nairobi)
* Talanta Sports Stadium (Nairobi)
* Kipchoge Keino Stadium (Eldoret)

Tanzania|

* Benjamin Mkapa Stadium (Dar es Salaam)
* Chamazi Stadium (Dar es Salaam)
* CCM Kirumba Stadium (Mwanza)
* Samia Suluhu Hassan Stadium (Arusha)

Uganda|

* Mandela National Stadium (Kampala)
* Nakivubo Stadium (Kampala)
* Hoima Sports Stadium (Hoima)

* v
* t
* e

Kampala, Uganda

Transport|

* Note that Entebbe International Airport in Entebbe serves as Kampala's airport

Landmarks|

* Mandela National Stadium

Education|

* École Française Les Grands Lacs
* International School of Uganda
* Kampala International School
* Rainbow International School
* Vienna College
* Makerere University

Culture|

* Uganda National Mosque

Kampala at Wikimedia Commons .  Uganda portal

* v
* t
* e

Uganda national football team

General|

* Federation of Uganda Football Associations
* History
* Managers
* Achievements
* Records

Stadiums|

* Mandela National Stadium
* St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende

Players|

* Squad
* Player category

Results|

* Results
* 1926–1969
* 1960–1979
* 1980–1999
* 2000–2019
* 2020–present

Africa Cup of Nations|

* Summary
* 1962
* 1968
* 1974
* 1976
* 1978
* 2017
* 2019

Other tournaments|

* African Nations Championship
* CECAFA Cup

Notable matches|

* 1978 African Cup of Nations final
* 2011 CECAFA Cup final
* 2012 CECAFA Cup final
* 2015 CECAFA Cup final
* 2019 CECAFA Cup final

Other Ugandan teams|

* U-23
* U-20
* U-17
* Women
* U-23
* U-20
* U-17

* v
* t
* e

Nelson Mandela

* 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013
President of South Africa (1994–1999)
* President of the African National Congress (1991–1997)

Life|

* Early life
* Mandela and Tambo law firm
* UMkhonto we Sizwe
* 1955 Congress of the People
* Freedom Charter
* Treason Trial
* Rivonia Trial
* Robben Island
* Pollsmoor Prison
* Victor Verster Prison
* Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa
* Liliesleaf Farm
* Mandela House and museum
* Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
* The Elders
* 70th Birthday Tribute
* 90th Birthday Tribute
* Awards and honours
* Death and state funeral
* state memorial service attendees
* funeral attendees

Presidency|

* 1994 election
* Presidency
* Government of National Unity
* Reconstruction and Development Programme
* Truth and Reconciliation Commission
* Constitution of South Africa
* 1995 Rugby World Cup
* Intervention in Lesotho
* Mahlamba Ndlopfu

Books and
speeches|

* "I Am Prepared to Die" (1964 speech)
* Long Walk to Freedom (1994)
* Mandela: The Authorised Biography (1999)
* Conversations With Myself (2010)
* Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years (2017)

Legacy and
namesakes|

* Mandela Day
* Nelson Mandela Forum
* Nelson Mandela Institution
* 46664 concerts
* Mandela Rhodes Scholarship
* Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules)
* Nelson Mandela Challenge
* Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate
* Nelson Mandela Invitational
* Nelson Mandela International Airport
* Nelson Mandela Square
* Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
* Mandela National Stadium
* Nelson Mandela Bridge
* Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital
* Ponts Nelson-Mandela
* Nelson Mandela University

Film depictions|

* Mandela (1987)
* Death of Apartheid (1995)
* Mandela (1996)
* Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (1996)
* Mandela and de Klerk (1997)
* Goodbye Bafana (2007)
* Endgame (2009)
* Invictus (2009)
* Winnie Mandela (2011)
* Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
* Mandela's Gun (2016)

Family|

* Ngubengcuka (great-grandfather)
* Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa (father)
* Nosekeni Fanny (mother)
* Evelyn Mase (wife)
* Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (wife)
* Graça Machel (wife)
* Makgatho Mandela (son)
* Makaziwe Mandela (daughter)
* Zenani Mandela-Dlamini (daughter)
* Zindzi Mandela (daughter)
* Ndileka Mandela (granddaughter)
* Mandla Mandela (grandson)
* Zoleka Mandela (granddaughter)
* Ndaba Mandela (grandson)

Related|

* African National Congress
* history
* International Tribute Concert
* Madiba shirt
* "Free Nelson Mandela" (song)
* "Mandela Day" (song)
* "Rise Up" (song)
* "Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)" (song)
* Nelson Mandela (EP)
* Atlanta sculpture
* Cape Town City Hall statue
* Johannesburg statue
* London statue
* Pretoria statue
* Washington, D.C. statue
* Ismail Ayob

* Category

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* Structurae
* StadiumDB

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