Coaches weigh in on plans to resume sports

The return of different football leagues in Europe amidst the Coronavirus pandemic brought a certain sense normalcy and positive energy among the people

At the same time, it made it easier to stay at home, where you can watch sport as a distraction from all the uncertainty.

Now with over three months since different sporting events were halted across the country due to the pandemic, there is hope that the government will be able to ease restrictions if the sports sector comes up with sound plans that will avoid the spread of the virus if sport resumes.

New Vision caught up with different coaches to get their views on how sports should resume and they suggested plenty of things with the Maroons FC coach, Charles Ayiekoh, calling for consultations among all stakeholders.

"Every time President Yoweri Museveni addresses the nation, sports is not tackled and it has been seen as leisure in most cases. But if the National Council of Sports, the ministry of sports together with all federations come together and decide on one goal, they can reach out to the President because he may not understand the urgency of sports. We can play without fans if they allow us," Ayiekoh stated.

In the same line, Police FC tactician Abdullah Mubiru believes that every player should first be tested before accessing grounds.

"While observing all the presidential and health ministry directives like observing social distancing, putting on masks and washing hands, I think testing every player before accessing the pitch will be great. This will help not to circulate the virus because if someone is sick or affected he cannot really play,'' noted Mubiru.

SC Villa coach Edward Kaziba on the other hand feels the return of sports will help to rebuild confidence among the people.

''Though coronavirus may be beyond our control, we also don't know when it will end. So the return of sports will take away the depression many people are going through during this lockdown especially those interested in sports. I believe we can resume with different restrictions like not allowing fans accessing the training and playing facilities,'' revealed Kaziba.

Though the 2020/21 season is supposed to kick off on October 17, by the time sporting activities were halted, many competitions were not complete.

The 2019/20nStanbic Uganda Cup, playoffs in the FUFA Big League, and other regional leagues are some of the competitions that are supposed to be climaxed before 2020/21 season gets underway.