Is it poor maintenance eating up Namboole national stadium?

Most footballers will probably tell you that one of the hindrances to playing a good match on the pitch is a heavy downpour. When this occurs, the pitch becomes clogged with water as well as mud making it almost impossible to either move the ball or run around the pitch.

During last week’s Cecafa Tusker Challenge Cup tournament at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, this was what happened. According to Jamil Ssewanyana, the managing director of the Stadium, most of the Cecafa matches were almost cancelled because of the heavy downpour.

However, this did not happen because the some teams insisted on going ahead with the matches which idea he was not comfortable with.

“I was only afraid that the pitch which was already soggy because of the heavy downpour, would become worse once the players set foot and began running around with the ball,” Ssewanyana says.

Unfortunately, that is what transpired. After the match, most parts of the field were left covered in muddy brown water. The soft ground bearing the grass on the other hand had been heavily thumped on by the players during the match.

Derrick Sekyanzi, one of the football fans who attended some of the matches, says his attention was diverted from the football players to the pitch.
“I was really amused. In my mind, I was like am I watching grown up men playing football or young boys running around in mud? Ssekyanzi wondered, laughing loudly.

Because of this, the games were suspended out of the pitch for three days.

“Management came to a conclusion of giving the football pitch a-three-day break to allow it dry,” he says.

Instead of taking a back seat and waiting for the pitch to “recover,” Ssewanyana and his pitch management team decided to get to work by soaking off all the muddy water from the pitch and reinstating some of the grass that had been badly destroyed. And finally last Monday, the games once again commenced.

Meanwhile, the matches that were listed to kick off at Namboole Stadium were shifted to Lugogo and Wankulukuku Stadia respectively. Nakivubo Stadium was not used because it was booked for prayers and worship. However, the question that still stands is, did this happen because the pitch is poorly maintained or is management just adamant about injecting funds into improving its state so that it can match international standards?

According to the Namboole football Pitch Manager, who preferred not to disclose her name, the problem has never been with the pitch’s maintenance.

“For starters, slashing is done every after three weeks and then fertilisation of the grass is carried out every after four months. Pitch aeration is also done every six months,” she says.

“Whenever it rains, regardless of whether there is a football match going on or not, the water from the grass is immediately soaked up using a pitch sponge. It was only unfortunate that this could not be done because of the matches that were going on at the time.
“With all these measures in place, it is wrong to make a conclusion that the pitch gets clogged because of poor maintenance. Our pitch is often in good condition and it only gets bad whenever it rains and there is a match being played,” she says.

Besides, she says the pitch is only used for sports activities which are mainly football and rugby. On the other days when there are functions such as national prayers, musical concerts, corporate functions and party elections such as the recently held FDC party presidential elections, the Mandela pitch manager says, the activities are done outside the circles of the football pitch.

“Everything ranging from concert stages, tents to stalls, is installed on to the ground outside the pitch because of their bulky nature. In fact, there are even banners that are put across the field urging everyone to keep off the grass when there is a function going on,” the pitch manager states.

On the issue of management not injecting enough funds to improve the state of the pitch so that it can match international standards, Ssewanyana says, these funds are not even there in the first place.

“The money is not yet there. However, we are in the pipe line of developing strategies that are meant to improve the state of the field. Purchasing a football pitch rain cover to shield water from entering into the grass is part of this plan as well,” he says.

“In terms of having a stadium that meets international standards, we shall get there when the time comes,” he adds.

Hassan Mawanda Wasswa, the Cranes Captain, however, strongly believes the money is there but management is not utilising it for improving the state of the pitch.

“How can a whole management not have money to improve indoor sports facilities within their own arena?” Mawanda asks.

The Cranes Captain goes ahead to state that the grass on the pitch is not even the ideal type for playing football.

“The grass is of poor quality and this is why you see the pitch clogging often whenever there is a heavy downpour,” Wasswa says, with an angry tone.

He says it is actually this that causes embarrassment when other foreign teams come to use the pitch for playing various tournaments.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com