Uganda bows out of global cross county event

Uganda will not take part at the 20th World University Cross Country Championships which kick off Saturday (March 12) in Cassino, Italy.

A 12-strong team had been named last month to represent Uganda - after progressing at the national university cross country qualifiers at Makerere University rugby grounds.

But they will not take part because of funds.

Winnie Nanyondo, Docus Ajok, Joshua Cheptegei and Julius Ochieng are some of the participants who have to miss out on the grand opportunity to develop and grow their talent due to financial constraints faced by the Association of Uganda University Sports (AUUS).

AUUS secretary general Patrick Sebuliba told New Vision that the association chose to forgo the event due to financial constrains as they look towards fielding a team at the upcoming bigger event, the Inter University Netball Championships due July in Miami, USA.

"Due to financial issues, we decided to forgo the cross country championships and rather focus on the bigger event ahead," he said.

The decision made by the association has however affected the athletes.

The earlier-selected participants will miss out the experience and opportunity to weigh their performance with participants from other countries.