Uganda U-15 baseball team eyes World Cup qualification in Kenya

Uganda’s national Under-15 boys’ baseball team is determined to secure continental glory as they head to Nairobi this weekend for the World Cup qualifiers.

The delegation, comprising 16 players and five officials, is led by Uganda Baseball and Softball Association (UBSA) president John Bosco Sempa. The tournament runs from December 5–7 at Jomo Kenyatta University.

Team captain Eustance Ssegujja urged government authorities to prepare early to support the squad financially should they qualify.

He recalled the bitter disappointment of 2023, when Uganda’s Under-12 team earned a World Cup slot but failed to travel to Chinese Taipei due to lack of funding.

At a flag-off event held at Copper Chimney, Lugogo, Milton Chebet, assistant general secretary for technical matters at the National Council of Sports (NCS), officially handed over the national flag to the team.

Chebet encouraged the youngsters to uphold discipline, focus, resilience, and fair play, reminding them to emulate the women’s national softball team, which recently advanced to the second round of World Cup qualifiers.

“Yours is a direct qualification, and you must work on many things including teamwork,” he advised.

The qualifier has drawn four nations—South Africa, South Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda, with only the winner earning a coveted ticket to the 2026 Under-15 Baseball World Cup in Italy. UBSA president Sempa expressed confidence in the squad, which has been training since September.

He emphasized Uganda’s dominance in under-age baseball, noting that many of the current players graduated from the Under-12 team that qualified in 2023.

“Our boys missed the World Cup in 2023 and now they are hungry and more mature. Uganda is number one in under-age baseball on the continent, and I am confident we will qualify,” Sempa stated.