The national team, the Uganda Cranes yesterday put a smile on Ugandan fans’ faces after ace striker Farouk Miya scored the lone goal against the Comoros to ensure Uganda qualifies for AFCON for the first time in 38 years.
However, tens of thousands of fans that thronged Mandela National Stadium in Namboole left dejected after they failed to access the stadium, whose capacity of only 45.000 could not help accommodate the over 80.000 people who paid a minimum of Shs 25.000 to watch the epic match.
Perturbed by the seeming anxiety after many failed to enter the stadium, the police spokesperson Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Andrew Felix Kaweesi asked the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) president Engineer Moses Magogo about the exact number or of tickets issued for sale to fans.
And today while addressing a press conference at police headquarters in Naguru, AIGP Kaweesi said that according to Eng Magogo, there was likelihood of counterfeit tickets on sale, a development that saw the affected crowd turn rowdy.
“I regretfully instructed the police and sister security agencies to cut off access into the stadium, this resulted into a mixed reaction from the fans that had attained tickets and wanted to enter the pitch,” Kaweesi told reporters.
According to Kaweesi, the fans fought police officers, broke the gate and even attempted to burn two police motorcycles, the latter a futile effort by the mob that resulted in the arrest of 64 suspects including a one Andrew Wasswa, who police believe was their cheerleader.
“Police highly regrets the incidences of those who were beaten during the scuffles but this was done in order to prevent a national catastrophe from happening,” Kaweesi said, before pledging that police and FUFA will introduce a ‘scientific approach’ through which the issuing of tickets to the Cranes games will be conducted.
AIGP Kaweesi also advised FUFA to introduce giant screens outside the stadium to cater for all those who fail to access the interior.
“FUFA should keep announcing to the public about the possible remaining space,” he added.
