President Yoweri Museveni has urged the Ministry of Education and Sports to develop a strategic plan for organising regional/zonal sports competitions in order to enhance the development of games and sports in the country.
“Uganda has been performing well several times in the Olympic Games and Sports, which the National Council of Sports should have documented from 1954 to date for reference in future.
The Uganda Cranes has won to compete in the forth-coming world sports because of its talent at national level,” he said.
The President was last evening speaking at a dinner that he hosted for the national team, the Uganda Cranes, at State House Entebbe to congratulate the players on the achievements made for the country.
“The Uganda Cranes have been performing well in sports. I wish the Cranes good luck in other games and I congratulate all teams that have performed well,” he said.
During the dinner that was also attended by the NRM Vice-Chairman, Al Hajj Moses KIgongo and the Government Chief Whip, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa, among others, President Museveni outlined the core values of sports as embodying physical fitness to strengthen the body and character training with the aim of winning through perseverance and discipline.
He stressed that sports also calls for teamwork and good coordination, it is an entertainment as well as a source of income and revenue from sports lovers.
“Once you have stamina that results out of good feeding, train well to attain tactics and manoeuvres through teamwork, you are sure of a triumphant success,” he emphasized.
The teams that the President hosted to the dinner included the Under-17 Male Youth Cranes football team, the She Crested Cranes’ Football Team and the Sand Cranes’ known as the Male National Beach Soccer Team.
The Under-17 Male National Football known as The Cubs, emerged as the champions of the Under-17 Africa Cup of National (AFCON) Regional Qualifiers in the CECAFA zone that groups namely Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zanzibar.
The Ugandan team, in the country’s football history, qualified for the first time during the tournament held in August in Tanzania. The team is yet to compete in April 2019 in Tanzania.
The team also won a bronze in the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) during the Challenge Cup in Burundi.
The Crested Cranes in the Female National Football team won a bronze in the 2018 CECAFA Women Challenge Cup that was held in Rwanda.
It also won another Bronze in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Women Championship in September this year in South Africa.
The Sand Cranes Beach Soccer National Team was ranked the second and scooped a bronze medal in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania among the teams in Eastern and Sothern African countries.
The Uganda Universities’ National Netball team – The Mighty Cranes – was also honoured and recognised for emerging the fifth winner during the World University Netball Championship in September 2018 that took place in Cape Town, South Africa. The national netball players from Kampala University, Nkumba University, Ndejje University and Uganda Christion University have represented Uganda very well since 2012.
State Minister for Sports, Hon. Charles Bakkabulindi, commended President Museveni and the 1st Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Museveni for the zeal and support to sports activities in the country.
The first Vice President of FUFA, Mr. Mugisha Justus, noted that the credit for all the national achievements and successes in games and sports go to President Museveni’s enormous contribution and encouragement.
All sports successes are attributed to the President and the Minister of Education and sports”, he said. He pledged FUFA’s commitment and determination to lift the national flag higher in sports.
