The year 2023 will not be easily forgotten within the sports fraternity. His Excellency, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed the new Sports Act 2023 into law.

As a consequence, the archaic Sports Act of 1964 was binned. Sports in Uganda can now be run professionally. 

For decades on end, few sportsmen and sports administrators understood the commercial side of sport. Even the government now appreciates that sports is a business. A sector that, if properly managed within an enabling legal and regulatory regime, can become a major source of revenue for the country and a sector that can provide carriers and employment to millions of youths. The framers of the new sports law intended that the benefits be seen and enjoyed by Ugandans not tomorrow but today. The coincidence that in the same year; a couple of months after the new sports law, Uganda – together with Kenya and Tanzania – won the bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 code named ‘Pamoja 2027,’ cannot be overlooked. It will be the first time in our nation’s history that we host an international sporting event of the AFCON magnitude. The amount of coverage that this news was given, to the point of being hailed by parliamentarians as a groundbreaking milestone, sums up its significance.

Parallel to this development was the announcement that the newly re-developed Nakivubo Stadium, now called Hamz Stadium, is almost ready for launch. Pictures that confirm the stadium re-development have been shared across social media platforms and they have left tens of thousands of sports fans overtaken by emotion. The official stadium launch is expected in the first quarter of 2024. Similarly, Mandela National Stadium which has been undergoing renovation since five years ago, is also about ready for unveiling. 

After decades of demonising the Uganda government for ignoring sports, the year 2023 has changed the narrative. For what it’s worth, the government now has sports among its priorities. There has been forgettable news and regrettable developments in sports as well; Netball, which has been the new face of Ugandan sport on the international scene for the last four years was condemned to die. From the political battles that tore apart the game’s top administration; getting some - like the outgoing president Sarah Babirye Kityo imprisoned on more than one occasion;  to the de-registration of the federation and withdrawal of the Uganda Netball team from participating in the top international. With no end in sight of the wrangles that have turned the sport into a national embarrassment, netball could as well be forgotten as a national sporting treasure. For now.

After promising a likely take off in recent years following Uganda’s qualification for the finals of the 2017 and 2019 AFCON tournaments, the year 2023 reminded football-loving Ugandans; especially the Uganda Cranes fans, that it was a false dawn. For all the patience that FUFA had shown in handling former Cranes coach Milutin Sredejovic, his continued stay was no longer tenable. The Serbian was finally sacked along with his entire technical team. 

Just like the Uganda Cranes however, Uganda clubs Vipers SC and KCCA FC were shockingly poor on the continent where they represented the country in CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup respectively. 

Cricket though, salvaged the good face of sport. The Uganda Cricket Cranes qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Africa Region for the first time in an ICC World Cup event. That we did it ahead of overwhelming favourites Zimbabwe and Kenya highlights the significance of the milestone.

Such is the potential for sporting excellence that Uganda has; when football, netball, athletics, boxing, and rugby disappoints, cricket salvages our pride. For this, and the fact that netball and football attracted a lot of negativity in terms of results, cricket takes the flowers for 2023.