Uganda Rugby Union (URU) has withdrawn the Lady Rugby Cranes 7s national team from the ongoing World Rugby HSBC 7s Challenger Series.
The shocking decision was announced this Monday following an executive committee meeting held on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
“The Executive Committee of the Uganda Rugby Union has regrettably decided to withdraw the Uganda Lady Rugby Cranes 7s team from participating in the Krakow leg of the 2025 World Rugby Sevens Challenger,” read the press statement published by URU on Monday.
The reason for the decision, according to URU, is that they “feel” it is not possible to “secure visas for the team on time” despite their “best efforts to start this process ahead of time and flagging this same challenge to World Rugby.”
However, and of critical importance, according to sources knowledgeable on the matter who have preferred anonymity to speak about it, URU is not in the best liquidity position to undertake such a laborious and costly process amidst its demanding financial commitments.
What is required to obtain a visa to Poland?
Poland is in the Schengen region and Ugandan passport holders need visas before travelling to this region. A Schengen visa costs EUR 90 (approx. UGX 360,000). This amounts to EUR 1440 (approx. UGX 5.75 million) for the twelve players, three coaches and the team manager.
In addition to the visa application fee and form, travellers must present their valid passports, passport-size photos, travel itinerary, travel medical insurance, proof of accommodation, proof of funds of sustenance, and an invitation letter.
Poland has a consular office in Kampala but the visas are only issued and collected in person in neighbouring Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. This meant the whole team and management would need to travel to Nairobi to apply for and pick their visas, adding an extra cost to URU.
A round-trip flight from Entebbe to Nairobi costs around USD 360 (approx. UGX 1,320,000) amounting to UGX 21.12 million for the whole contingent.
Essentially, URU, as a bare minimum, would require UGX 26.87 million to complete the visa application process.
As difficult as it was to make this decision, URU did not have many options available to remedy the critical situation they find themselves.
This decision is a culmination of struggles URU encountered last year to participate in the same tournament. Uganda’s two teams barely made it to Krakow for the second round of the 2024 Sevens Challenger Series.
Unfortunately and sadly for the Lady Rugby Cranes 7s who had qualified for Krakow this year after two rounds in Cape Town and already knew their opponents and had already started training for the tournament, this is the end of the road.
“This team has put in a herculean effort, and it is a shame that their campaign has had to end this way, it was no easy task communicating this news to the team and their management,” URU’s statement added.
There was no mathematical chance for Uganda to progress to the final qualification tournament but the team had earned their spot in Krakow and would gain lots of experience participating.
This marks the premature end to both the Rugby Cranes and Lady Rugby Cranes’ seasons on the World Rugby calendar. They now have just the Rugby Africa 7s tournaments left to play.
URU further revealed it has quickly shifted its meagre resources to the Rugby Africa Women Div I tournament from April 9-20 in Côte d’Ivoire.
“While this decision puts a halt to the Lady Cranes 7s program for now, it will allow the Lady Cranes XVs team a chance to take part in the Rugby Africa Women Division 1 Tournament in Cote D’Ivoire. The ExCom has decided to assemble this team to compete in Cote D’Ivoire and push for promotion to the Rugby Africa Women’s Performance Division.”
This will have an even more significant impact on the ongoing Uganda Women’s Rugby Premiership from whose participating clubs, more players will be summoned for national duty. It is likely lead to a pause or postponement of the premiership since the already-struggling clubs will not have enough players to continue their participation.
