100 athletes get varsity spots via sports bursary

More than 100 talented student-athletes have been admitted to nine public universities across Uganda under the government-sponsored sports bursary scheme for the 2025–2026 academic year. 

The program, which is managed in partnership with the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA), rewards exceptional sporting talent with access to higher education.

“More than 100 student-athletes have been admitted to nine public universities across Uganda under the government-sponsored sports scheme for the 2025–2026 academic year,” USSSA said in an official statement.

“This initiative recognizes and rewards students with exceptional sporting talent by offering them higher education opportunities,” the statement added.

The student-athletes have been placed in various programs at Kyambogo University, Makerere University, Gulu University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Lira University, Soroti University, Busitema University, Makerere University Business School (MUBS), and Kabale University.

Makerere University will admit the largest group, with over 40 athletes. Makerere University Business School (MUBS) follows with over 20, Kyambogo University will admit 10, Kabale University 4, and Lira University 3. The remaining universities — Gulu, Soroti, Busitema, and Mbarara — will each admit one student-athlete.

Some sports had higher numbers of athletes admitted than others. Chess has 22, hockey 13, rugby 12 and basketball 10.The rest are spread across netball, volleyball, badminton, handball, football, lawn tennis, dance sport, athletics, woodball, and beach soccer.

Netball and volleyball are female-dominated, while rugby and football are male-dominated. Chess, badminton, basketball, and hockey are fairly balanced. 

In addition to their athletic achievements, many of the admitted students will be pursuing competitive science-based academic programs. These include Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Bachelor of Architecture, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), Bachelor of Science in Statistics, Bachelor of Industrial Art and Applied Design, and Bachelor of Science with Education.

“Public universities in Uganda offer a sports scheme as part of their admissions process, allowing talented athletes to gain admission based on their sporting achievements, alongside meeting academic requirements,” USSSA stated. 

“This scheme aims to boost opportunities for talented sports persons in accessing university education.”