It's official, the 2024 Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) Games will be hosted in Uganda by Bukedea Comprehensive School in Bukedea District.

The games that that bring together elite schools from member countries Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan and Uganda, will for the first time be hosted in eastern Uganda, co-hosted by Amus College.

The Bukedea/Amus joint bid came top of the rest of the bids including Jinja SS/Jinja College, Teso College Aloet, Namilyango College, Nabumali High School, St Mary’s College Rushoroza and Nyakasura School.

The announcement of the winning bid was made by the USSSA executive on Friday, October 13, but what could have lifted Bukedea’s bid above all others?

Ongoing infrastructural projects

Bukedea Comprehensive School had, before the bidding, started on big infrastructural projects including sports facilities for the school.

The projects under construction include a 20,000-30,000 seater stadium, an indoor, a swimming pool with a warm-up pool, two dormitory blocks, and a hospital that is nearing completion.

All these facilities are scheduled for completion by May next year, which enticed the USSSA executive to vote in favour of the Bukedea schools.

Powerful presentation

All hopeful schools had to present their bids before the USSSA executive, so the executive members made a choice of the best candidate.

Bukedea Comprehensive School managing director, Jonathan Gumisiriza, made the presentation on behalf of the joint bidding team.

“We have not come into this bidding because of what we already have as a school in terms of infrastructure, but what we plan to have by February 2024 in relation to standard sports facilities that will last for many other years to come,” Gumisiriza said.

This seemed to have moved the needle in Bukedea’s direction.

Director’s commitment

Bukedea Comprehensive School is owned by the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, who endorsed the bid.

And by starting up these projects to complement the standards of the school and also having committed to complete them in time before the games in August 2024, was a big boost.

Amus College on the other hand has also embarked on the football field projects and proprietor Patrick Isiagi, the Kachumbala Opolot MP, also gave the bid a go-ahead by committing to complete the projects before May next year.