The meeting between federations/associations and the National Council of Sports (NCS) on Wednesday, 21st May 2025, left the sports governing bodies in uncertainty.
While addressing the gathering, NCS general secretary Patrick Bernard Ogwel informed sports governing bodies to register in compliance of the new sports bill as earlier than 20th June 2025.
“By 22nd May the account to deposit registration will be active for those who are willing to comply with National sports law, the process shall remain open up to 20th June, after that the registration will remain open but not only for those in leadership of sports bodies, there anyone with interest will be able to register the sport”
We are willing to handle this process in benefits of our bodies but others are hoping to avoid the law, that will not happen. we aim to program well for the sports industry and to do that all the 50 sports federation and Associations must comply to this bill”. Ogwel explained in a meeting held at Cooper Chimney Lugogo.
In the bill, the major sector is tasking all sports body to acquire 50 and 75 percent of coverage among Ugandan district in order to earn recognition as Association or Federation.
Applying the task seem to be impossible for the most of National Sports bodies with few including Boxing, Football, Athletics hoping ready to overcome the task.
On that, Doctor Ogwel advised sports bodies to adopt more of School sports relationship to light up the task.
Meanwhile for some sports considered Unique by their governing Bodies like Squash, Golf and others in that mode are still facing hard times having less chances to acquire the coverage.
Shifa Nantambi the Secretary general of Uganda Squash and rackets games revealed
“We as squash and other sports like Golf we are not avoiding the law, but our sports are very Unique, it takes much time to take it to people across the country, it has been a challenge since the law was designed in 2023, we ask NCS to handle us in a different way, Like golf only has 20 courses across the country and having only one it requires over 100 accars so even the facilities are not easy to get”
On the same, Engineer Mwaka Emmanuel the boss at Chess, he was unsure about the succeeding of the bill.
“the bill is ready to bite most of the bodies and the implementor NCS, in chess we can comply but the most can’t, because of the mode the bill, it has never succeeded anywhere it was tried, example in Kenya it failed and their are many other examples”
Though Moses Muhangi of Boxing only considered the implementation of the bill rashy for most bodies, He said
“in Boxing we have beaten most of the odds and by 20th June we will be ready to become Boxing federation, we only have to fit with NCS, this is our remaining challenge but it will be done in time before the deadline” for other sports coverage is standing to be an impossible task and they are not the ones to blame, I think much time is need”.
As of now, only Uganda Athletics is the only body that have submitted in their application in compliance to the bill.
