Minister endorses centralized ownership of public sports stadiums

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The State Minister for Sports Denis Hamson Obua has expressed support for centralized ownership of public sports fields and stadiums in the country.

This follows a suggestion by FUFA president and Budiope East MP-elect, Moses Magogo that sports facilities like fields should be removed from the management of district land boards and other local governments and gazetted under a sports management body. He says that this will stop district councils from utilizing land and infrastructure meant for sports development.

Magogo intends to introduce this in a private-members bill once he gets to parliament. He believes that government’s proposed law does not consider the interests of sports stakeholders. Magogo also noted that 21st-century sports needs a law that protects commercial rights and tackles the scourge of match-fixing among other issues.

Obua told URN in an interview that the government cannot proceed with the proposed Sports and Physical Activity Bill at a time when the education and sports ministry is still reviewing the 2004 sports policy.

He says issues brought up by Magogo to do with promoting investments in sports and protecting stadiums by gazetting them under the protection of a sports body will all be supported by the government.

During her communication to the house on Tuesday, the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga told MPs about her meeting on Monday with the Union of Uganda Sports Federations and Associations-UUSFA, which is appealing to Parliament to repeal the 1964 National Council of Sports Act.

According to the Union, the law does not support investments yet still according to UUSFA, the country lacks sports funding policy which leaves many sports federations in the dilemma of facilitating their activities.

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URN