The Medical League chairman Twaha Ssekabira has called on the general public to come and cheer on ‘their doctors’ as they compete and interact during their fourth sports gala at Mengo SS on Sunday.

The Medical League Uganda is a sports platform for all medical institutions in Uganda where they come together and have some physical exercises through disciplines like football and volleyball.

Sunday’s outing has attracted 22 teams including from all the big hospitals in Kampala and elsewhere in; Kibuli, Nsambya, Mengo, Lubaga, Kampala, Nakasero, Corsu, Naggalama, Kisubi, and the National Drug Authority among others.

As they cheer the doctors, they will in turn benefit from the free medical camp that will run simultaneously with the sports gala; which the doctors have provided as a give-back.

“The Uganda Cancer Institute will be at hand to screen for breast, prostate, and cervical cancer. Mengo Hospital will also do blood donations and free eye checkups, Kibuli Hospital will be there for physiotherapy, while the Uganda National Laboratories are going to do Hepatitis B, Malaria, HIV, and Sickle Cell screening,” Ssekabira said.

He said Nsambya Hospital will also do general blood checks for blood sugar, hypertension, and any other related diseases. “So we shall be giving back to the community through sports”

Ssekabira added that the winning team will get trophies as well as medals on top of the awards for the best personalities in the different games; football, netball, and volleyball.

“I would like to encourage all the other partners who are in the medical field like the National Medical Stores, GMS, NSSF, and the banks because these are their doctors and I invite them to partner with us so that we build the league,”

“Next season we are going to add some board games because we want even those who are not physically fit to be involved. We shall be adding chess, tug of war, and dodgeball among others.

“Our sports outing is more of an interaction for us; more of an interactive social event, get to know one another as medics and in doing so we physically and mentally improve our mental and physical strength because most of the time we are seated in offices and rarely get time to exercise, so that gala helps a bit.

“As we interact with one another, we strengthen the referral system from one doctor to another and or from one institution to the other,” Ssekabira stated.

“The league is strictly for Medical personnel and it is not more about winning but to enhance our physical and mental health as medical professionals. We engage in 7-aside futsal games with only 2 slots for support staff,”

The Medical League was formed in 2019 and held its first sports outing at Old Kampala SS with 12 teams before COVID-19 stopped its progress in 2020. But it returned in 2021 with a mini tournament at Nsambya and before the third edition held at Old Kampala SS last year.