Arsenal Africa Fans Festival, April 2020: Kampala Edition (Part 1)

“Bonne année! Bonne année! Toute l’Afrique bonne année!” Bonne année is a song by Lucassa Ya M’bongo that simply wishes all Africans and everyone a happy new year!

Lucassa Ya M’bongo is a Congolese guitarist who has worked with among others; Sam Mangwana of the famous Fatimata song, Tshala Muana of Dezo Dezo song, and Kanda Bongo Man of the legendary hit song ‘My love Elizabeth’.

It’s pomp, flash, and color as we usher in yet another decade; the year is 2020, a leap year. Leap year comes once every four years. This article makes special acknowledgment to all Gooners and Goonerettes whose birthdays fall on 29th February. We understand, it’s not easy celebrating a birthday once in four years while the rest of us do it twelve-monthly, so hey mate, happy birthday in advance! 

Today marks exactly 100 days before the mega shut down in Kampala, Uganda in an all-rounded Arsenal fans affair dubbed Arsenal Africa Fans Festival, slated for the Easter of 2020. Every year, Arsenal fans in the larger Eastern Africa, part of Western Africa and the Southern part of the continent congregate in an annual fans festival to celebrate the unity that Arsenal Football Club has brought amongst its fan.

Gooners Uganda, under the able leadership of Dr. Hannington Mwesigye and Ms. Ninaz Cherie, alongside the Festival Committee, has shared preliminary program of the event to allow traveling fans of visiting nations to plan ahead of time logistics on transport and accommodation. I seek your indulgence as we dissect different key sections of the program to facilitate the making of one of the most anticipated events of 2020.

Nob View Ntinda Hotel. 

Nob View Ntinda Hotel, poolside

Nob View Hotel is the host hotel, located in Kampala Central, Uganda. The hotel has three types of accommodation packages; 1-bedroom apartments, twin & double rooms and single rooms. 

The 1-bedroom apartment has two beds that can host three people, a living room, kitchen area, and a fridge.


The twin & double rooms as the names suggest, the former has two separate beds that can host two people, and the latter has two sizeable beds doubled up to make one big bed suitable for couples. 

As indicated on the shared program: single rooms will cost you $30 per person per night. All three packages are half-board, that is, bed and breakfast. 

Single Room

Twin Room

Social amenities such as Health Club and an Olympic pool, free Wi-Fi are available within the hotel. 

There’s also DSTV and free computers to complement the rooms. The self-contained rooms and apartments have balconies that offer spectacular views of the adjacent hills. 

The hotel is 15 minutes away from the main bus stop and about 45 minutes away from Entebbe International Airport. Airport shuttles, Dhobi services, room services, storage rooms, bar & lounge, and restaurant are all available.

Jacob Katumba aka TBM

Mr. Jacob Katumba alias Thirsty Bar Man or fondly known as TBM is the person who calls the shots in terms of lodging logistics and can be contacted on +256 787 122 530. 

Everyone is reminded that the payment deadline for hotel booking remains by or before end of February 2020. 

Visiting fans who choose to make their own accommodation plans will cater for their own logistics.

Visa, Passport, Yellow Fever Certificate & ID. 

Uganda is a member state of the East Africa Community (EAC), and on 31st January 2018, a unanimous directive to roll out the new EA e-passport for all East Africans was given. The sole purpose of the e-passports is to ease border crossing for East Africans. 

Therefore, visiting Arsenal Fans from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi do not require visa for entry to Uganda. Only, the passport and the Yellow Fever Certificate suffices. In other instances, East Africans may use their national IDs as a substitute for a passport. Those with no passports can opt to apply for temporary passports at the immigration offices of their respective countries.

The new East African e-passport

For the rest of the visiting Gooners and Goonerettes, there are 3-ways to obtain your tourist visa for Uganda; on arrival, online from Official Uganda Website and at the Uganda Consulate or Embassy in your respective countries. It has been established that, among the three named options above, visa on arrival is the most preferred and recommended way of obtaining a tourist visa for Uganda, either at the port of entry like the border or Entebbe Airport. 

Uganda tourist visa will cost you $50 for damages. All passports should be valid for more than six months from the date of travel. International Certificate for Yellow Fever is a standard mandatory requirement across the board.

Flying to Kampala.

There are about 10 airlines that fly to Uganda either as direct flights, connecting flights or indirect flights, periodically. The most popular ones include; RwandaAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, South African Airways, Fly Emirates and Qatar Airways just to name a few. All these airlines fly to Entebbe Airport, the only international airport and the primary entry point into the country. 

Subject to your location and the time of flight booking, prices will vary from airline to another subject to discounts, surcharges and of course, seat type whether economy or first class. Rule of thumb is: the earlier you book your ticket, the greater the deal on the prices.

 Flying Gooners and Goonerettes are advised to take advantage of the festive season to check out those flights for #TugendeKampala Easter of 2020. Ticket prices to Kampala, Uganda range from $200 to around $700, give or take.

Uganda Airline, recently relaunched.

The relaunch of Uganda Air less than six months ago, has been one of the most exciting news for Ugandans and the larger African continent. With the new kid in the block, this could only mean one thing, that airfares will reduce subsequently because of stiff competition that other carriers will face from Uganda Air. 

Currently, Uganda Air flies to Kenya, Tanzania, Somali, South Sudan and Burundi. South Africa and Central Africa routes are soon yet to be announced. Uganda Air first came into existence in 1971, officially being flagged off by the then president, the late Idi Amin Dada. The collapse of the Uganda Air in 2001 was as a result of liquidation by the Government of Uganda.

Road trip to Kampala. 

Modern Coast buses, tours East Africa countries

From past personal experiences, I’d recommend road tripping to Kampala, Uganda if planning to visit the Pearl of Africa when not in a rush.


It is relatively pocket-friendly and leaves you with beautiful memories as you feed your eyes on the green-carpeted landscape of Uganda. 

There are five countries that border Uganda, with Kenya to the East, Tanzania to the South, South Sudan to the North, Rwanda to the South-West and Democratic Republic of Congo to the West.

At all these border points, travel documents including passport or ID, Yellow Fever Certificate and sometimes visa for non-East Africans will need to be presented to the immigration offices at the border. One can choose to use a car, bus, motor, or a 4 x 4 for your entry to Uganda by road. It will be noted that, special permits are required for vehicles crossing the border including the Comesa Card, also called the Yellow Card Insurance. One can easily get this from their local car insurer.

3 Day Program of activities. 

The Easter of 2020 falls on the dates: April the 10 (Good Friday), all the way to April the 13 (Easter Monday). Being the fourth edition of the Arsenal Fans Festival, everyone will be converging in Kampala, Uganda, the host city.

The official arrival date will be on the Good Friday with visiting Gooners and Goonerettes expected as from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. GMT+3. The guests will then check in at their respective lodging places before attending an Introduction Party scheduled to start as from 8:00 P.M. till late into the night.

Entebbe International Airport

Arriving guests will be picked from the Entebbe Int’l Airport as well as from the main bus terminal in Kampala town. Official representatives from visiting nations are obligated to liaise with their various teams and come up with a list of names, contact information and travel itinerary for its members to facilitate easy pick and drop.

Be a Gooner, Be a Giver tagline, resonates with most Arsenal fans across the world. Arsenal is well known for being more than just a football club as it supports many foundations helping the needy in the society: part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The noble gesture trickles down to its fans and it’s no surprise that the brainchild of the Arsenal Fans Festival is the charity. On Saturday 11, the main activity of the day will be the charity. Everyone will be required to put on the Arsenal home kit, our official jersey. Detailed information about the charity venue and activities to be carried out will be shared in the next article. The charity will take place from 9:00 A.M to 2:00 P.M.

After the charity, lunch will be served courtesy of Gooners Uganda and thereafter outdoor activities including ball games, tug of wars and board games to follow suit. And as the English Premier League season of 2019/2020 approaches the tail end, Arsenal F.C will have a match playing away to Wolves at Molineux Stadium on this day.

Panamera Bar, Kampala

The dress code for this particular Arsenal match will be the away jerseys. Panamera Bar in Naguru will be the place to catch the Arsenal match as from 5:00 P.M. until 7.00 P.M. 

And when the night falls, as predictable as it can be, while other cities in East Africa go to sleep, Kampala is just getting started for party after party after party. 

On Sunday 12, breakfast will be served from 8:00 to 9:00, and from then on, Arsenal Fans will have a tour of the larger Kampala City until 2:00 P.M.

Whoever has not been to Entebbe this is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime, as the Sunday afternoon will have the contingent travel to Entebbe with lunch on-board courtesy of Gooners Uganda. 

There will be beach games from late afternoon to early nightfall and then Gooners Uganda will be bidding farewell to groups going back to their countries on that Sunday. From 8:00 P.M. to around 9:30 P.M, official representatives of each supporter’s club, will then have a leaders meeting to plan for next activities and choose the next host country. After the meeting, everyone remaining will go back to Kampala to continue with party after party in the city that never sleeps. 

Monument at Uganda National Museum

Remaining Gooners and Goonerettes will on Monday 13, have a special visit to the Uganda National Museum and discover more about the Pearl of Africa and its history. 

Transport within Kampala, and to and from Entebbe will be provided by Gooners Uganda. Mr. Meddie Kayima is in charge of transport logistics and he can be reached on +256 776 458 863.

Arsenal Uganda Supporters Club was founded in 2010 and has been growing in numbers ever since with about 300 fans spread across the country. It is committed to creating space and opportunities for fans to support the only club awarded the Golden Premier League trophy in commemoration of the unbeaten run during the entire league season, the one and only Arsenal F.C.

Follow on Twitter:
Arsenal Uganda Supporters Club 

Official hashtag for the event:

#TugendeKampala2020

Your girl, yours truly,
Lisa Biwott M.


With utmost regards and sincere appreciation to:

Mr. Jacob Katumba
Ms. Ninaz Cheri
Dr. Hannington Mwesigye
Mr. Solomon Kuteesa
Mr. Michael Muniko
Mr. Dickson K-jo
Mr. Stephen Ndung'u
Arsenal Uganda Supporters Club,
Executive Committee, Gooners Uganda

Sources

#TugendeKampala Program

The writer of this article is a lifetime goonerette, who attended all the first three editions of the Arsenal Africa Fans Festival in Dar es Salaam, Kigali and Mombasa.