Cricket Uganda has expanded its grassroots development programme to St. Mary’s Primary School Kasozi in Buwunga Subcounty, marking the first time cricket has been introduced at a school in the area.
The initiative forms part of Cricket Uganda’s nationwide efforts to grow the sport at the grassroots level and widen its reach into new communities across the country.
The introductory session was led by Cricket Uganda South Western Regional Development Officer Lawrence Ssempijja, who guided pupils through the fundamentals of the game. Young learners were introduced to key skills including catching, throwing, running and scoring through a series of structured drills designed to make learning both engaging and enjoyable.
“Today I was at St. Mary’s Primary School, Buwunga subcounty, Masaka region,” said Ssempijja. “This is a school that has welcomed cricket and the first school to play the game of cricket in the area. The session was all about introducing the game to the children. In this session, the children learnt how to catch, throw, run, and also count the runs through the game of rapid fire which they all enjoyed.”
The session attracted enthusiastic participation from both pupils and members of the teaching staff, reflecting the school’s excitement at becoming one of the newest centres for cricket development in the region.
According to Ssempijja, the school’s leadership welcomed the programme and has already outlined plans to keep the sport active through internal competitions.
“The head teacher was excited to have the game of cricket introduced in his school,” he added. “And they will continue playing the game, starting from inter-house and inter-class competitions.”
The visit is part of Cricket Uganda’s wider strategy of introducing the sport to new communities while creating pathways for young players to develop from an early age. By targeting primary schools, the governing body hopes to strengthen the talent pipeline and provide children with opportunities to learn the game’s fundamentals in a structured environment.
Ssempijja said early exposure remains critical to the long-term development of future players.
“Cricket is fun and brings us together. We catch them young to build better future players.The best time is starting them game young.“
With cricket now established at St. Mary’s Primary School Kasozi, Cricket Uganda hopes the programme will serve as a foundation for further growth of school cricket across the wider Masaka region.
