By the time the audience had dispersed the Buliisa Meeting Room of the elegant Marriott Hotel, not many had fully weighed in the power of the signed partnership between Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) and the Confédération Africaine de Football (Caf) on Friday afternoon.
UTB and Caf announced an agreement to promote Uganda, through Explore Uganda brand, as a leading African tourism destination during next year’s TotalEnergies Pamoja Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The deal, with sources on both ends of the negotiations valuing it at estimated $7.5 million (Shs31.83b), is the biggest marketing agreement in Ugandan history.
‘Ugandan tourism has turned a corner. This is not the tourism we knew in 1996. You start to see that we are starting to take center stage on the tourism global stage,’ UTB CEO Julian Kagwa remarked in front of a powerful delegation comprising Caf, Fufa and government officials.
‘On behalf of the Caf president Dr. Patrice Motsepe and our Caf Executive Committee, I would like to welcome UTB to the Caf family,’ stated Caf general secretary Samson Adamu.
With the international system turned to a multi-polar order, it has created economic changes, forced major geopolitical shifts, and arisen the influence of non-Western powers.
And at a time where the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted chains, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war raging on, the U.S-Israel war with Iran, states of a stature like Uganda honestly find it difficult to compete globally.
President Yoweri Museveni launched the Explore Uganda brand in 2022 a strategic move to revamp the country’s tourism industry following ramifications of Covid-19.
And now, the uniqueness of deal with Caf is that Uganda closed in on a major international platform to showcase its diverse tourism attractions, cultural heritage and hospitality to millions of football supporters across Africa and around the world.
‘We are home to the mountain gorillas. It’s only in Uganda where silver meets gold. It’s only in Uganda where we have the big seven, other countries have the big five so we are unique,’ tourism state minister Susan Nakawuki Nsambu noted.
‘It’s only in Uganda where we find the source of the River Nile. Uganda is in its own make. As a ministry, we realize that destination marketing must always evolve (with) targeted international marketing to make sure that Uganda remains competitive,’ she added.
Put simply, the marketing deal has the potential to reach nearly four out of ten people as East Africa hosts the continent’s biggest sports showpiece.
‘The Afcon 2027 will give East Africa a unique opportunity to market itself to the over three billion people globally who will be watching the Afcon. Caf is working closely with Uganda together with Kenya and Tanzania to build strong ties with the business community ahead of Pamoja 2027,’ said Adamu.
‘That’s how tourism is going to make a contribution to the 10-fold growth strategy,’ Parliament’s deputy Speaker Hon. Thomas Tayebwa stated.
He argued that Uganda has 29 mountain gorilla families, of which each can be visited by eight people a day. ‘You have a premium product which must be marketed to premium markets. If we don’t invest in marketing our country, the tourists will not come,’ Tayebwa noted.
Immediately after Adamu’s speech, the Explore Uganda sponsorship’s promotion video, filmed by Uganda Media Centre (UMC), was unveiled in the room and on social media. By Sunday morning, the 69-second clip had reached more 189,000 views on UMC’s page on X, formerly Twitter.
Respectfully, the Afcon brand under Motsepe’s reign has turned a big corner in terms of value, especially at the Ivory Coast 2023 and Morocco 2025 editions.
From preliminary research numbers released by independent research agencies, Afcon witnessed a 61 percent growth in viewership at the tournament played between December 2025 and January 2026 in Morocco.
For the same tournament, Caf noted record figures of about 3.6 billion viewers in tournament broadcast and an additional six billion in digital engagements.
‘This is our moment in history. We must welcome the rest of the world, whether it is virtually or physically,’ Kagwa said. ‘We need to get ready. This is the biggest Kwanjula that Uganda will ever have. I want to put it in a local context, because that’s when people lose their minds in our homes.
When the homestead gets ready to welcome the man, they’re taking their daughter. That is the way we need to be behaving,’ she added.
Uganda had 1,642,215 international visitors and tourism receipts reached a record $1.62b (Shs5.829t) in 2025, according the ministry of tourism, wildlife and antiquities data.
For each Pamoja Afcon tournament brand placement across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, Explore Uganda will be a part; at all stadiums, key hotels and airports, on match tickets, visual adverts across broadcast and digital platforms among spaces.
EXPLORE UGANDA
Destination brand: Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa
Launched: 2022
Managed By:Uganda Tourism Board
2025 Statistics: 1,642,215 international visitors
2025 Tourism Receipts: $1.62 billion (Shs5.829 trillion)
Brand Promise: Adventure of a Lifetime – Uganda’s rare, precious, natural and cultural legacy
Core Attractions: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, White-water Rafting on River Nile, Wildlife Safaris across national parks, Mountain Climbing in the Rwenzoris, Diverse Cultural Experiences across more than 56 ethnic groups.
PAMOJA AFCON 2027
Organizers: Confédération Africaine de Football (Caf)
Edition: 36th
Host countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Dates: June 19 – July 17, 2027
Teams: 24
Venues: 10 (in 7 host cities)
Title Sponsor: TotalEnergies
Tourism Competition Sponsor: Explore Uganda