Revealed: Trick that saw AFCON Pamoja Bid trounce rivals

Federation of Uganda Football Associations President Moses Magogo has revealed the competitive edge the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Pamoja Bid had over other rival bids.

Apart from the joint East African bid, Nigeria, Senegal, and Benin had tabled their offers, but ultimately the former succeeded.

Pamoja Bids' added advantage

Magogo has now revealed what added advantage the East African bid, whose success was confirmed by CAF in Cairo on Wednesday, enjoyed.

"We put together a very beautiful bid, and we told the reasons why our countries should host AFCON. We have everything it takes; talk about infrastructure. Uganda has two stadiums that are already built; Kenya has two; and Tanzania has two stadiums too.

"Our job is to put them under renovation. Compared to the others, they had to go and build, and this is where our trick was," Magogo told the press.

The Ugandan football official also cited the support of their respective governments, which gave the bid the necessary push. Magogo also promised that they would work together to deliver an incredible tournament.

"We convinced ourselves, as three football presidents in East Africa, that we had the right strategy.

"We went to our governments in different ways, and all the governments have been behind us 100%. We are excited, and first of all, we believe that we have the reasons and the ability to do it, and we believe we shall deliver one of the most successful AFCONs in our modern times.

"In terms of infrastructure, we are going to get the best because I believe the government will invest, and eventually more tournaments will come to East Africa," he continued.

Need for East Africa AFCON

The Member of the Ugandan Parliament cited reasons why it was time for the region to be given the right to host the biennial tournament.

"Having been since 1976 that the CECAFA region last hosted, it was something to think about. What about the population and combined GDP? It was only Nigeria that had more population, and we believed that over 300 million people from East Africa and neighboring DR Congo and Malawi could move by road, railway, air, or water in a distance of one hour.

"We made our case, appealed to the voters, and that is why they voted for us," the FUFA chief added.

He envisioned that after the tournament, the three East African countries would not be the same.

"Uganda will not remain the same after hosting it. I do not think Kenya or Tanzania will remain the same. I believe the region will not remain the same," he concluded.