Uganda People’s Congress (UPC)has urged the government to allocate more funds to sports to develop infrastructure like stadiums and gymnasiums in all regions of Uganda.
The remarks were made while congratulating athletes Joshua Cheptegei, Peruth Chemutai, Jacob Kiplimo and the entire team for winning gold, silver and bronze medals for the country that saw the Uganda Flag flying high in the just concluded Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan.
In a statement, UPC head of media and communication, Fazio Muzeyi noted that Uganda’s sports industry is not doing well and the athletes are facing a lot of challenges ranging from infrastructure to their welfare which brings us to a very big task as a country on how to improve and sustain such a performance that has taken the country a milestone.
“In the Party manifesto of 2021 – 2026, UPC recognizes the importance of sports in society as it has a direct relation to fitness, good health and most importantly productivity,” he Said.
He explained that the biggest challenge facing sports in Uganda today, is that the government still looks at sport as just a mere recreational activity.
For instance, Muzeyi noted that countries like USA and China have carved sports out as a unique sector and fully fledged professional industry.
“It is such a lucrative industry that has a lot of value it adds to the people of a nation. The humble contribution that the government allocates to sports, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) takes the lion’s share thus leaving other sectors in sports vulnerable,” he said.
“Let us launch a national sports talent search system, so that extraordinary sporting talent is identified at a very young age. Such promising boys and girls should be selected for special training in such academies,” Muzeyi added.
He stated that this is an attractive career that should be planned for accordingly adding that the 1964 National Council of Sports (NCS) Act also ought to be amended and create an Authority instead of a council as a regulatory body.