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Kitara lose home advantage against Hilal
Kitara players join Kabon Livin is celebrating the last minute winner against Express. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Caf recently approved the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole and St. Mary's Stadium in Kitende to host the Caf Interclub competitions.
Kitara has lost their home advantage over Al Hilal Benghazi in their first round preliminary match of the 2024/25 Caf Confederation Cup after failing to secure a ground within Uganda.
The Uganda Cup winners confirmed that they will host their first leg of the tie in Hilal’s backyard at the Benina Martyrs Stadium in Benghazi.
The club said that they were forced to make the decision due to “unforeseen circumstances” that left them with no further options.
“Kitara had initially hoped to host the match in the country but unforeseen circumstances made this unworkable,” The club explained in a statement.
The Kabalega Royals had earlier announced they would host at Namboole but sources say the ongoing constructions forced them to look elsewhere. A tartan running track is currently being installed around the playing pitch at the stadium.
Shs100m
Caf recently approved the Mandela National Stadium in Namboole and St. Mary's Stadium in Kitende to host the Caf Interclub competitions.
This publication has learnt that Kitara approached the management of Kitende to use their facilities but the $30,000 (approx. Shs110m) cost of renting was beyond their budget.
Kitara refused to comment beyond their statement but previously Bul and KCCA confirmed to this paper that they were charged around the same amount to host Caf games.
Vipers’ chief executive officer Simon Njuba declined to comment on the matter stating that “the club doesn’t discuss office matters on media”.
A source at Fufa confirmed that the federation granted the club’s request to host the match in Benghazi and confirmed it with Caf. Former Uganda Cranes Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic is believed to have saved the club the blushes by offering to link them with the facility in Libya. Micho is currently the head coach of the Libyan national team.
The winner of the Caf Confederations fixture will face Egypt’s Al Masry.
