There’s something almost comical about watching people who’ve never set foot in East Africa lecture us about what we can’t do. The confidence is impressive. The ignorance, even more so.
At a recent press conference, someone with a microphone and apparently no internet connection suggested that hosting AFCON in East Africa would be a logistical nightmare because, and I quote, “roads don’t exist” here.
The comment didn’t just age poorly, it was born expired. It belongs in a 1970s travel documentary narrated by someone who thinks Africa is a country and not the East Africa of 2025 where highways cut through mountains and airports spring up faster than the critics can update their talking points.
Let’s be clear about what we’re actually dealing with here. The East African Community isn’t some provincial backwater hoping for a chance. It’s a market of over 300 million people. A landmass larger than Western Europe. GDP growth rates that make developed economies look stagnant. And yet, the moment we step forward to host something significant, out come the gatekeepers with their measuring tapes and their tired assumptions.
The people comparing our Pamoja bid to Morocco’s setup are missing the entire point. Morocco hosted a brilliant tournament. We applaud that. We respect it. But we’re not trying to replicate Morocco.
We’re doing something that’s never been done before. A tri-nation AFCON hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Not because it’s easy, but because it proves something the critics refuse to believe: that East African integration isn’t a fantasy. It’s infrastructure. It’s policy. It’s three nations moving as one because we decided that’s what works for us.
This isn’t about matching someone else’s standard. It’s about setting our own. And if that makes the old guard uncomfortable, then that’s not our problem to solve.
Let’s address the elephant in the room, or rather, the roads that supposedly don’t exist.
If you think getting around East Africa still involves a donkey cart and prayers, you’re about two decades behind. Kenya’s highway network connects the region like arteries. Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway moves cargo and people at efficiency and speeds that would surprise anyone Uganda has been laying tarmac at a pace that suggests we’re in a hurry, because we are.
And the airports? Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International handles over 7 million passengers a year. Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere is expanding. Entebbe connects Uganda to the world.
But none of this fits the narrative people want to tell about us, so it gets ignored. It’s easier to recycle old stereotypes than to acknowledge that we’ve been building.
Look at Hoima. Uganda has constructed a $130 million stadium that’s already open. Not under construction. Not projected for completion. Open. Commissioned. Ready to host matches tomorrow if we want.
Hoima Stadium sits next to its own international airport, which renders the entire “how will people get there” conversation irrelevant. The facility isn’t just functional, it’s beautiful. It’s a statement that we’re not here to meet anyone’s expectations.
And Hoima isn’t alone. Stadiums are going up in Nairobi. In Dar es Salaam. Infrastructure projects are being fast-tracked across all three nations because we understand what’s at stake. This isn’t just about football. It’s about showing the world what East Africa is capable of when we move with purpose.
