What you need to know:
Table tennis was no exception. Listed in 112 districts upon application, the sport was found in just 41 districts.
Sports associations and federations are facing a tough and almost unrealistic deadline of five working days to fix the gaps in their applications for registration under the National Sports Act 2023.
The Act requires all national sports bodies to re-register with the National Council of Sports (NCS), in line with a string of new and strict requirements.
The August 11, letter by NCS general secretary Benard Ogwel detailed the results of the verification exercise that started after the June 20 registration deadline.
The findings show that several national sports bodies governing football, basketball, boxing, rugby, badminton, cricket, table tennis, among others failed to meet the requirements to attain or maintain association or federation status.
A national association governs amateur sport while a federation governs amateur and professional sport.
According to the Act, a federation must show proof of presence in at least 75 percent of the districts, which equals to 110 districts. Associations must be present in at least 50 percent of the districts, which equals 73 districts.
Many bodies failed the threshold. Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) for instance, claimed to be present in 112 districts, which meets the 75 percent of the districts requirement. But the findings found UBF present in only 46 districts, which means that UBF did not meet the requirement for federation or association.
The UBF also failed the leadership test of being elected by a general assembly of delegates from at least 50 percent of the districts. The NCS found that the attendance sheet from the February 5, 2025 assembly shows voting delegates came from only six districts.
The NCS also made several suggestions about areas the UBF Constitution does not agree with the sports law. Such provisions need to be revised, among others.
Fuba—the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations, also failed the association or federation test because it listed only 38 districts in which they are present.
Uganda Cricket Association also failed because even though its claim of presence in 32 districts is insufficient, it was found present in only 24 districts. Same case with Badminton Uganda, who claimed presence in 29 districts but found in 18 districts.
Rugby claimed to be in 89 districts, but was found to be in just 29. Table tennis was no exception. Listed in 112 districts upon application, the sport was found in just 41 districts.
That although the minutes show that the June 29, 2025 assembly was attended by delegates from 88 districts, only 13 clubs of the 15 paid up clubs were present.
The NCS verification team found that contrary to the sports law.
“It’s recommended that the applicant conducts an elective assembly in accordance with the law reflecting an election by voting delegates or authorised persons of member clubs drawn from 73 districts.”
Now that may be next to impossible to fix within five working days of receiving the letter. Just calling an assembly may need more than five days. Convening it and filing the minutes is another ball game.
Failure to comply with recommendations will give NCS the leeway to “consider the application as initially submitted and make an attendant decision regarding your registration as a national sports organisation.”
As expected, Fufa, whose boss Moses Magogo was the architect of the new law, has little to worry about. The survey found the football regulator present in 114 districts, which meets the federation threshold.
However, Fufa has, among others, been tasked to realign its constitution with the Sports Act regarding acknowledgement for the jurisdiction of arbitrators in solving sports disputes.
The Fufa constitution must also agree with the Act’s demand for publication of annual audited books of accounts in media of wide circulation.
Ridiculus law
Robert Jjagwe, who processed the registration of the Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) before he stepped aside in late June, reiterated his position that the Sports Act is a bad law that must be repealed to make it more realistic in the Ugandan context.
“Uganda is the first country to license sports bodies based on district coverage. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world,” Jjagwe said in an audio circulated on social media channels.
“Some sports, like swimming, golf, motor rally by nature can’t be in every district. Sports bodies are also tasked to show proof of sports activities and calendars in districts they claim presence. Jjagwe finds that ridiculous as well.
“The law wants federations [and associations] to start clubs in all districts, which wasn’t our role. And it’s expensive. The government should have provided funds for that because we run these sports on behalf of the government.”
He cited the Public Finance Management Act 2015 which requires that “Every Bill introduced in Parliament shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Financial Implications issued by the Minister.”
The certificate indicates the estimates of revenue and expenditure over the period of not less than two years after the coming into effect of the bill when passed and the impact of the bill on the economy
“We need to look at the certificate to see whether the government committed any resources to that drastic expansion the sports law demands,” Jjagwe said.
Moses Muhangi, the Uganda Boxing Federation president, did not differ from his ally Jjagwe. He, however, claimed that NCS was misled by the district sports officers because they mostly deal with schools and not communities hence their inadequate knowledge of boxing activities in those districts.
Muhangi also made a cheeky request to “our friends at NCS, Chairman Tashobya and our good Minister Ogwang, to start applying the same boldness so far applied in this exercise of compliance to law, as well in the distribution of government funds and infrastructure.”