Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) President Robert Jjagwe has voiced concerns over the financial challenges facing the sport due to a lack of government funding.
Speaking on NBS Sport’s Breakfast Meeting, Jjagwe revealed that the association has not received any government support since the current financial year began.
“We have not received government funding since the financial year started. That’s the truth of the matter,” Jjagwe said.
He further highlighted the disparities in funding allocation within Uganda’s sports sector, pointing out that while the Ministry of Finance allocated UGX 132 billion to the sports sector, the majority of federations, including table tennis, have been left out.
“Just a few federations, like football, got some money—around UGX 8 billion—because they’re preparing for AFCON.” Jjagwe explained.
“Meanwhile, we are preparing for the Africa Senior Championships with no money. These federations are just in preparations and already have funds, while we need much less but are left without support,” he added.
According to Jjagwe, UGX 112 billion of the allocated funds went towards paying Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) licensing fees.
He suggested paying part of the amount and using the balance to support other federations, but was told the full payment had to be made at once. This situation has left UTTA scrambling for alternative sources of funding.
Jjagwe emphasized that while UTTA has managed to secure some support from sponsors, the responsibility to back the national table tennis team ultimately falls on the government.
“This is not a Robert Jjagwe team; when we compete internationally, we do so as the National Table Tennis Team of Uganda. The primary responsibility to support us lies with the government,” he asserted.
Despite the financial challenges, the national team remains determined to represent the country at the Africa Senior Championships in Ethiopia next weekend.
The players, along with their sponsors, have managed to secure air tickets for the trip, but UTTA still needs approximately USD 6,000 (UGX 23 million) to cover the team’s hospitality costs.
Amid these funding struggles, Uganda’s table tennis team has continued to excel on the international stage.
In July, they won five out of six medals at the Africa Continental Hopes Championship, with Patience Anyango being crowned Africa’s Female U11 Champion.
Additionally, Sir Joseph Sebatindira has held the position of World Number 1 for 18 consecutive weeks, marking a significant achievement for Uganda in the global table tennis scene.
