Uganda’s sports community gathered under one roof on Tuesday at the Next Media Park as the much-anticipated State of Ugandan Sport symposium officially got underway.
With a theme of “Bridging the Gap,” the event opened the floor to raw, unfiltered conversations about the systemic issues holding back Uganda’s sporting potential — from weak infrastructure and unclear policies to leadership hurdles across federations.
The spotlight session, aired live on NBS Sport, was led by Dr. Bernard Ogwel, General Secretary of the National Council of Sports, who stood in for the Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang.
In his remarks, Dr. Ogwel pointed to the visible efforts the government has made to boost sports nationwide, including stadium upgrades and broader investment in facilities.
Most notably, he cited the UGX 1.3 trillion recently allocated to the sports sector in Uganda’s national budget as a strong statement of intent.
“This shows sports is now a national priority,” Dr. Ogwel said. “The government has been consistently supporting federations over the past eight years. Now, with the National Sports Act 2023 in place, we have a legal framework that’s already reshaping the landscape.”
The new regulations under the Act include stricter requirements for national reach. Federations must now prove 75 percent national coverage, while associations need a 60 percent footprint to remain recognized. Dr. Ogwel called this a necessary step to professionalize and grow the sector.
Private sector leaders also took center stage. Football investor Jonard Asiimwe and Aggrey Ashaba, Chairperson of the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, weighed in on real-world challenges, from infrastructure bottlenecks and CAF compliance hurdles to funding gaps and the urgent need to build talent pipelines that can compete on the global stage.
The symposium resumes on Wednesday for its second and final day, promising deeper dives into reform strategies.
It will be broadcast live on NBS Sport, with full coverage available on Afromobile.
