Injury crisis brewing in Ugandan Sport
Oct 30, 2015
A tour of Austria by Uganda’s national soccer side in 1998 is best remembered for a health check that exposed the entire Cranes side as injured.
By James Bakama
A tour of Austria by Uganda’s national soccer side in 1998 is best remembered for a health check that exposed the entire Cranes side as injured.
The routine check-up left the hosts baffled by the medical state of the visiting team.
“Each of us had issues either with joints, ligaments, muscles or other forms of leg injuries that we had previously not taken seriously” recounts a player who was part of the tour.
What further dumbfounded the hosts was the naivety of the visitors. All seemed normal in the Cranes, who made the trip straight from a continental qualifier against Algeria.
This might have been 17 years ago but the story still epitomizes the medical state of Uganda’s sports.
If an entire national team of the country’s most popular sport could be injured, what is the situation like elsewhere in the country?
A very big number of Ugandans are actively involved in sports despite having career threatening injuries.
Even where the injuries are detected, one is never sure of getting the necessary medical attention.
Netballer Elizabeth Atonet is a classic example of someone who could have easily had her career tragically end.
A knee injury she sustained in World Cup preparations in June was only treated last week.
But even this treatment was only after the intervention of the media.
It took a newspaper article to highlight Atonet’s plight before she was treated.
Atonet might however count herself lucky for having had a media boost. Many sportsmen out there are not that lucky.
Very many fellow netballers continue playing with injuries.
Esther Awajo (Police), Christine Lamunu and Carol Alupo (UPDF), Juliet Nakafero, Florence Amono and Florence Nanyonga (Prisons), Joan Amaeo (UCU) and Beatrice Zawadi (Police) can be seen limping on court.
One of Uganda’s longest serving sports doctors, Ronald Kisolo describes the medical state of Uganda’s sports industry as scandalous.
“Most clubs and federations simply don’t care. They don’t seem to realize the importance of medical care,” states Kisolo.
But he also notes that some clubs just can’t afford medical services while some prefer other forms of “treatment.”
“Some of them have made it very clear that they prefer native doctors. Others go for pastors.”
Kisolo, currently the national soccer team doctor, cites the top football league where virtually all the 16 clubs don’t have serious medical services.
“Even top clubs like Kampala Capital City Authority, which even owns hospitals with well-trained sports doctors, prefer to use only masseurs or physiotherapists.”
These inadequacies are the reason Uganda has failed to implement the mandatory Pre-competition Medical Assessment.
This check before any competition, which is a Federation of International Football Associations requirement, is supposed to determine the health status of players before competitions.
Sports Club Victoria University, under Serbian businessman Simo Dubajic a year ago, is the only club that used to have thorough medical checkups of its players.
Kisolo says masqueraders have in the process invaded the industry. “You have people who only move around with pain killers, liniment and ice posing as doctors.”
Without citing names because of what he describes as professional reasons, Kisolo reveals that some footballers are playing with fractures.
Kisolo notes that the few doctors who have ventured into sports have ended up being frustrated for poor facilitation.
Players as a result continue risking their lives in an environment of questionable medical services.
Sudanese officials were recently shocked to see a Ugandan player featuring for the Cranes in an African Nations Championship qualifier.
The visiting officials claimed that the same footballer failed a medical with a top side in Khartoum.
“How can he be playing? It is very risky. He was advised to rest because of a very serious medical condition,” revealed the official.
In 2011 another Cranes player Edward Ssali was barred from playing in the African Championship in Sudan after being detected with a serious heart complication.
Ssali however returned to Uganda and continued with his career as if nothing was wrong.
Former national boxing captain Charles Lubulwa says the situation is no different in the Sweet Science.
He cites the death of boxer Kalifan Khalil in 1995 as a result of an injury that was not detected in time.
Lubulwa says Khalil reported for training for the East Africa Inter-Cities training after sustaining a head injury the previous day at his club.
“A punch to the head only aggravated the problem. He collapsed and when he was rushed to Mulago hospital, he was pronounced dead.”
Retired US army lieutenant colonel Diamond Bricks, who runs a sports program Fitness 4 Life at Lugogo, concedes that there is a serious medical crisis.
“Most Ugandan sportsmen are actually injured. Some of these injuries start off as simple damage only to be aggravated by continued sports activity without medical attention.”
The Physical Education and Sports Science graduate however adds that there is something more to the crisis.
He says poor fitness levels are a major cause of injuries in Uganda. “Chances of a fit player getting seriously injured are minimal compared to an unfit one.”
“In Uganda a coach is everything. He monitors fitness, diet and even health. That is wrong. A coach must concentrate on tactics.”
He insists that there is an urgent need for teams and federations to start hiring fitness managers.
“Serious clubs spend 90% of their time on fitness and only 10% on actual play. Real Madrid’s Ronaldo puts in nine hours a day into fitness.”
He cites disciplines like rugby, basketball and volleyball where almost every player is injured.
He insists that most of these injuries are self-inflicted. He doesn’t look far for examples.
“My services are free to all national teams and some clubs but I am virtually rendered redundant by the low turn up of sportsmen.”
Bricks says corporates who are more into the program to fight obesity have shown more seriousness.
But maybe all hope is not lost. National Council of Sports acting General Secretary Nicholas Muramagi last week announced that they will soon start enforcement of guidelines on standards for various stakeholders.
Muramagi, who said the guidelines were sent out come years ago, however couldn’t readily avail them to The New Vision.
He points out that safety is one of the areas emphasized in the guidelines. “We shall enforce them and put sanctions for whoever doesn’t comply.”
The sooner that is done the better as sports in Uganda is in a precarious situation.
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