In 2018, I openly disagreed with some of our sports administrators over the repeated selection of a particular female journalist for nearly all the major international events that Uganda was taking part in.
I will leave her name out, but those who witnessed my frustration at that time know exactly who I am referring to. I could not understand how so many tirelessly hardworking sports journalists were being overlooked whenever the chance to travel for these major events came up.
What made the situation worse was that we had a forum where this journalist would start conversations and jokes about past funny moments from those trips.
These were moments she shared with the very administrators who seemed to select her again and again. It often felt like a reminder of how much fun they had previously enjoyed, conveniently surfacing as another international event approached. It was clear that these jokes were part of a subtle campaign to secure yet another trip.
The most disturbing part was that, here at home, many of our federations barely felt her contribution to their growth. She had a preference for the already popular sports such as athletics, football, and basketball.
During my entire tenure, I believe she attended only two table tennis events, and that has hardly changed to this day. It was alarming to see her chosen repeatedly for almost all major international engagements.
Most people now know that these trips come with government allowances and fully paid expenses.
For example, I am told that every participant at the recent Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia received at least 5.5 million shillings from the government.
This applied to athletes, coaches, journalists, and others. It is obvious that such allowances are attractive, and any journalist would welcome them, especially when all other costs are covered.
I am relieved that this unfair pattern of selecting less active journalists eventually stopped.
What is important for the sports sector is to ensure that the journalists who are visibly committed and working tirelessly to promote our disciplines are the ones rewarded.
When trips and allowances go to those perceived as lazy, it demotivates the hardworking journalists who do so much to put Ugandan sports before our citizens. This can slow down the development of the sector.
If I were fully responsible for choosing how many journalists attend a multinational championship such as the Olympics, I would take at least four.
That increases the number of beneficiaries and boosts the marketing and publicity of the games. The more publicity the games receive, the better for sports growth in Uganda.
Sports are a form of entertainment and we cannot entertain the public if they never see the games. This is why we need as much coverage as possible.
I do not believe sports can grow without taking marketing and publicity seriously. These two areas are closely tied to the media. This is where our journalists come in.
For them to promote the sector effectively, we must reward those who work hard and help us get more Ugandans to love and follow our events.
The current trend, where the well known hardworking journalists benefit from trips to major games, should continue and even be extended to more deserving journalists.
The writer is a Bush Lawyer, Former President of the Uganda Table Tennis Association, and Secretary General of the Union of Uganda Sports Federations and Associations.
