By Karim Were
Uganda’s Hoima City Stadium has been named the 2026 ENR Global Best Project in the Sports/Entertainment category, putting the country’s new sports infrastructure on an international construction platform.
HOIMA, Uganda — Hoima City Stadium has been named the Best Project in the Sports/Entertainment category at the 2026 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Global Best Projects competition, giving Uganda a major international construction accolade as the country prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Kenya and Tanzania.
The Hoima stadium was selected from 111 project submissions assessed by an international panel of construction and engineering industry veterans. The 2026 competition recognised 32 projects in 21 countries across six continents, with judges assessing entries on safety performance, innovation, teamwork and excellence in design and construction.
ENR’s rules required winning projects to have been completed between January 2025 and May 2026 and to have recorded no construction-related fatalities. Hoima City Stadium was submitted to the competition by Turkish company Summa Turizm Yatirimciligi A.S., the contractor involved in delivering the facility.
The recognition gives Uganda’s newest major stadium an international engineering and construction distinction ahead of the 2027 continental football tournament. It also places Hoima alongside projects from major global infrastructure programmes that emerged as winners in other categories.
Among the other recognised developments are the Riyadh Metro Lines 1 and 2 in Saudi Arabia, the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project in Tanzania and the Mumbai Coastal Road Project in India.
International recognition for Uganda’s stadium
ENR, a leading publication covering engineering and construction, has conducted its Global Best Projects competition for more than a decade. The awards are designed to recognise project teams behind significant design and construction achievements around the world.
For the 2026 edition, judges reviewed 111 submissions before selecting 32 winners.
ENR Editor-in-Chief Scott Blair said the competition examined projects through criteria including safety, innovation, teamwork and construction excellence. He noted that this year’s winners represented projects on every continent except Antarctica.
Hoima City Stadium emerged as the winner in the Sports/Entertainment category.
ENR’s official list identifies the project as being located in Hoima, Uganda, with Summa Turizm Yatirimciligi A.S. listed as the submitting company.
The award is significant for Uganda because it provides independent international recognition from a construction-industry competition at a time when the country is investing heavily in sports infrastructure.
It also highlights the engineering and project-management dimension of a facility that has primarily been discussed domestically in connection with football and AFCON 2027.
A major sports infrastructure project
Hoima City Stadium was developed as a multi-purpose sports complex rather than simply a football venue.
According to Uganda’s National Council of Sports, the project includes a 20,000-seat main stadium, a 2,000-seat mini arena, a semi-Olympic swimming pool, an outdoor football pitch and athletics track, as well as basketball and volleyball courts.
The National Council of Sports lists the project as an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) design-and-build, turnkey contract.
The facility occupies approximately 16.8 hectares, while the stadium has a total seating capacity of 20,000.
The complex also includes parking facilities, VIP and VVIP areas, dressing rooms, a press conference room, concession facilities and retail spaces. The NCS lists 839 parking spaces, comprising 720 open and 119 covered spaces.
The scale of the development reflects the government’s broader effort to expand Uganda’s sports infrastructure beyond Kampala.
For decades, Uganda’s biggest sporting events have been concentrated around facilities in the capital, particularly Mandela National Stadium, commonly known as Namboole.
The construction of a major stadium in Hoima has therefore given the Albertine region a significant new sports and events facility.
Construction timeline
The National Council of Sports records the official commencement date for the project as September 1, 2024, with an official completion date of February 28, 2026. It lists the planned project duration as 18 months.
Uganda’s Media Centre has separately described the stadium as having been built in about 14 months by Summa, although the National Council of Sports’ project information gives an 18-month contractual duration.
The difference reflects the distinction between the reported construction period and the contractual project duration.
The project has also been associated with Uganda’s broader infrastructure investment linked to preparations for AFCON 2027.
According to the Uganda Media Centre, Parliament approved the release of Shs152 billion from the Petroleum Fund in May 2024 for construction of the stadium. The government described the allocation as the largest investment from the Petroleum Fund at the time.
The use of public resources has made the stadium an important government infrastructure project, while the international ENR award provides recognition of its construction and engineering aspects.
What the ENR award means — and what it does not
The ENR award should not be confused with certification that the stadium has automatically satisfied all requirements to host AFCON matches.
The two processes serve different purposes.
ENR’s competition evaluates completed construction projects according to criteria such as safety, innovation, teamwork and design and construction excellence.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), meanwhile, conducts its own technical and operational inspections of facilities being considered for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
CAF’s inspections cover issues relevant to tournament delivery, including stadium operations, safety and security, transport, media, logistics and other matchday requirements.
CAF confirmed that its inspection programme for Uganda included a visit to Hoima City Stadium.
The continental football body has said its inspections are intended to ensure that the three host countries deliver world-class facilities and infrastructure for the tournament.
That distinction is important because an international construction award does not replace CAF’s venue approval process.
The ENR recognition is evidence of achievement in engineering and construction. CAF’s assessment is focused specifically on whether a venue meets the requirements necessary to host matches at Africa’s premier national-team football competition.
Hoima’s role in AFCON 2027 preparations
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are scheduled to jointly host the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2027 from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
CAF says the tournament will be the first AFCON jointly hosted by three countries and will bring the continental competition back to East Africa for the first time in more than five decades. (CAF Online)
The tournament is expected to feature 24 national teams, with the three host nations automatically qualified.
Uganda’s preparations extend well beyond stadium construction.
The government has been working on roads, accommodation, airport infrastructure, training facilities, security and other services required to support the tournament.
The Uganda Broadcasting Corporation reported in April that Hoima City Stadium was complete, while works and investments were continuing on other elements of Uganda’s AFCON infrastructure programme.
CAF’s inspection programme has similarly covered stadiums, training grounds, hotels, airports and supporting infrastructure across the three host nations.
The stadium’s location in Hoima also gives AFCON preparations a regional dimension.
Rather than concentrating the tournament’s infrastructure entirely in Kampala, the development creates the possibility of major international sporting activity in the Albertine region.
A broader investment in Hoima
Hoima’s importance to Uganda extends beyond sport.
The city is at the centre of the Albertine region, an area that has become strategically important because of Uganda’s oil and gas developments.
Investment in roads, accommodation, commercial facilities and public infrastructure has accelerated as the region prepares for increased economic activity.
The stadium adds another dimension to that development by providing a major facility capable of hosting football matches, athletics competitions, entertainment events and other gatherings.
The National Council of Sports’ project specifications include a swimming pool, basketball and volleyball courts and other facilities, indicating that the complex was designed for multiple sporting uses. (NCS Uganda)
That multi-purpose character could be important after AFCON 2027.
Large sports facilities can face financial and operational challenges if they are built around a single tournament and then struggle to attract events afterward.
Hoima City Stadium’s wider design potentially gives it a longer-term role in Uganda’s sporting and entertainment calendar.
International construction teams behind the project
The ENR recognition also highlights the international character of the stadium’s construction.
Summa Turizm Yatirimciligi A.S., the Turkish company that submitted the project to ENR, was involved in the delivery of the stadium. (Engineering News-Record)
Summa publicly celebrated the award, describing the recognition as an achievement for its Hoima project and thanking employees, partners and others involved in the development. (LinkedIn)
Other companies involved in specialised elements of the stadium have also highlighted their contributions.
For example, Turkish lighting company Sah Group said it delivered the stadium’s field and exterior lighting on a turnkey basis in collaboration with Signify.
Such contributions illustrate the complexity of modern stadium construction, where the finished structure depends on multiple specialised disciplines, including structural engineering, architecture, electrical systems, lighting, mechanical services, safety systems and venue technology.
The ENR award is therefore not simply recognition of a physical building. It recognises the project team and the process through which the facility was designed and constructed.
Safety as a key factor
One of the most significant elements of the ENR competition is its emphasis on safety.
ENR states that projects could not qualify for recognition if they had experienced construction-related fatalities. (Engineering News-Record)
The requirement places occupational safety alongside design quality and innovation as a central measure of construction performance.
For large infrastructure projects, safety is particularly important because construction sites involve heavy machinery, elevated work, electrical systems, structural works and numerous contractors and workers operating simultaneously.
By making safety a condition of eligibility, ENR’s competition places emphasis on how projects are delivered as well as what they ultimately produce.
For Hoima City Stadium, the award therefore represents recognition across several dimensions of project delivery.
The stadium’s future beyond AFCON
The most important test for Hoima City Stadium may ultimately come after the 2027 tournament.
International sporting events can provide a major boost to host cities, but the long-term value of infrastructure depends on whether facilities remain active and financially sustainable once the tournament ends.
Hoima already has a growing population and an expanding economic role in the Albertine region.
The stadium could become a venue for domestic football, athletics, schools competitions, concerts, conferences and other major events.
Its additional sporting facilities could also support the development of athletes outside football.
That would give the project a broader legacy than simply providing a venue for AFCON matches.
The long-term challenge will be ensuring that the facility is properly maintained, professionally managed and regularly used.
Infrastructure of this scale requires continuous spending on maintenance, security, utilities, playing surfaces and equipment.
The value of the ENR award, therefore, will ultimately be measured alongside the stadium’s operational performance over time.
Uganda’s infrastructure ambitions
The Hoima award comes at a time when Uganda is attempting to position itself as a destination for major sporting events and international investment.
The government has described AFCON 2027 as an opportunity to accelerate improvements in infrastructure and services.
CAF’s preparations framework includes stadium development, operational planning, cross-border movement, safety, security, medical preparedness and other tournament requirements. (CAF Online)
The tournament consequently provides a deadline around which several infrastructure projects have been organised.
Hoima City Stadium is one of the most visible examples.
Its ENR recognition gives Uganda an opportunity to demonstrate that infrastructure developed for a major continental sporting event can also attract recognition from the international engineering community.
At the same time, the award should be understood within its proper scope.
It is an engineering and construction accolade, not a declaration that all AFCON-related requirements have been met.
CAF’s inspections and eventual venue decisions remain the relevant benchmark for tournament participation.
ENR to announce overall Project of the Year
The recognition is not the final award in the 2026 ENR competition.
ENR said all 32 winning projects will receive further coverage in its December 14 issue, which will also reveal which project receives the overall Global Project of the Year title.
Hoima City Stadium has therefore already secured the top award in its category but remains part of a wider field of internationally recognised projects competing for the overall honour.
The result places Uganda’s stadium in a group of major projects from different sectors and regions.
Whether Hoima eventually receives the overall title will depend on ENR’s further selection process.
A milestone for Uganda’s sports infrastructure
For Uganda, the immediate significance of the ENR recognition is clear.
A stadium built as part of the country’s preparations for a major continental tournament has received international recognition for its construction and project delivery.
The award also draws attention to Hoima as an emerging centre for major infrastructure and sporting activity.
But the recognition comes with an important distinction.
The ENR award demonstrates that the stadium has been judged a leading project in its Sports/Entertainment category according to the competition’s construction criteria. CAF’s inspections, meanwhile, will determine whether the venue meets the specific operational standards required for AFCON 2027.
Both assessments matter, but they answer different questions.
The ENR judges have recognised the achievement of building the facility. CAF’s responsibility is to determine whether the facility can successfully support one of Africa’s largest sporting events.
As Uganda moves toward 2027, the focus will increasingly shift from construction to operation: ensuring that stadiums, roads, hotels, airports, training grounds and other facilities work together effectively.
For Hoima City Stadium, the ENR award provides a significant international milestone before that test begins.
If the facility is successfully integrated into Uganda’s long-term sports strategy, its legacy could extend well beyond AFCON 2027 — providing the Albertine region with a major sporting, entertainment and community asset for years to come.
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