A sports sector is the way to go for Uganda

By Dr. Donald Rukare

The global sports industry is worth a staggering $650b. This includes infrastructure construction, sporting goods, licensed products and live sports events.  An independent study by Lagardère Unlimited, finds that the global sports industry is growing much faster than national gross domestic product (GDP) rates around the world. With this in mind, one could ask how Uganda is positioning itself to be a key player in this evidently lucrative industry. One way I urge is through the creation of a sports sector that will provide the required legal and policy space to nurture talent that would be able to tap into this $650b.

First off, it is critical that our leadership both political and sporting realise that sports are not entirely a leisure/amateur activity but a growing major professional income generating industry. With this realisation in mind, I would propose that a sports sector akin to the health, education and road sectors is put in place. The sports sector would be led by the Ministry of Education and Sports and would bring together the key players in the sports industry. These are the government, national federations/associations, athletes representatives, the Uganda Olympic Committee, civil society (sports related NGO’s), private sector and development partners.

These key players under the lead of the Ministry of Education and Sports would in a participatory and inclusive process develop a national sports policy and law which would guide the sector. Following this a strategic plan would be developed identifying the vision, mission, key objectives and indicators for the sector. The plan could for example focus on talent identification elite sports, facilities development, sports administration and management.

With the policy, law and strategic plan in place the sector would meet bi-annually to agree on priorities for a particular financial year and assess progress. This I believe is on sure pathway to having sustained sports development in the country. For example the sports sector could identify key activities to be support in a financial year and this could easily avoid embarrassing scenarios of the She Cranes travelling by bus to Malawi to take part in a vital regional championships or athletes travelling without kit and allowances to represent the country.

The advantages of a dedicated sports sector are really self-evident. First it leads to enhance coordination, communication and cooperation amongst the key sports players in the country. It provides a vital leveraging forum to advocate for increased funding for the sector based on measurable indicators and outcomes as outlined in the policy and strategic plan. It allows for creation of a road map indicating the key sporting priorities of the country that are owned, accepted and understood by all in the industry.

The Ugandan National Plan Development (NDP) places the Ministry of Education and Sports within the social sectors cluster and rightly recognizes that physical education and sports contributes to development through promotion of fitness, teamwork, discipline, patriotism and harmony. The NDP goes on to state sports is a profession that creates opportunities for self-employment live hoods, entertainment and amusement. The NDP also speaks of a Physical Education and Sports Policy together with a strategic investment plan. To my knowledge and I stand to be correct these are yet to be put in place. Nevertheless the NDP provides a useful starting point for the creation of the sports sector.

In order for Uganda to develop sports men and women who are able to compete and be embedded in the $650b market, it is essential that a robust, functional sports sector is in place with responsive legal, policy and institutional frameworks in place.

The writer is is the president of Uganda Swimming Federation and Secretary General of the Uganda Olympic Committee. drukare@nocuganda.org .