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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The 2023 Airtel – BIKA Tournament climaxed at Wankulukuku Stadium with Ngonge winning the 2023 championship on Saturday. Ngonge Clan attained the title after defeating Mbogo Clan with a 2- 0 win in football while in netball, Ngeye won with 37 points against Nyonyi’s 36 points.
The BIKA Tournament is a grassroots tournament that draws together 56 clans, including the royal clan, the Abalangira, that make up the Buganda totems. The 2023 tournament included football and netball games.
Ali Balunywa the Sales and Distribution Director at Airtel Uganda congratulated all the 56 clans that braved the 2023 BIKA Tournament season and showcased great talent on the pitch since the games were launched in May this year.
“Emerging as a winner requires dedication, hard work, and resilience to be able to compete proficiently, and all the teams have embodied a winning spirit, hence they are all winners,” said Balunywa, adding that, “Sports like football and netball are steadily growing in Uganda and I am impressed that talent is scouted from tournaments like BIKA and Masaza Cup to represent the country in other tournaments at a national and regional level.”
He added, “Our brand promise is to give our people A Reason to Imagine and now with the enhancement of our network to Uganda’s First 5G Network, we believe sportsmen will be able to keep up-to-date with other sports competitions across the world through digital and social media channels and borrow tactics that can make them stand out as well as compete at a global stage similar to what She Cranes showcased in South Africa recently.”
Airtel Uganda has rolled out the 5G Network across 50 sites in the central business district and will scale up the network on 25,000 sites across the country on a site-by-site basis. “These advancements are aimed at giving Ugandans an opportunity to leverage technology to improve their well-being as well as participate in different social-economic activities like sports, agriculture, and entrepreneurship among others,” he said.
Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga congratulated Ngonge Clan for winning the 2023 tournament, and appreciated all the Clans that participated in the tournament.
“BIKA Games celebrate the different clans and the heritage of Buganda Kingdom which is a unifying factor in the Kingdom and surrounding areas. It also plays a key role in social economic development as people come together to rally behind their teams on and off the pitch and engage in the different entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the tournament. I thank Airtel Uganda for being a notable partner and for always extending support which is instrumental in helping us organize such engagements,” Mayiga said.
“We thank Buganda Kingdom for pioneering activities like BIKA tournament where talent is groomed. We commit to continue supporting initiatives that are intended to inspire people in communities where we operate to become the best they can be and showcase their potential once given platforms like the BIKA tournament,” Balunywa concluded.
In 2022, Ndiga was crowned winners of the BIKA Tournament after defeating Lugave to a 3 – 1 win in Football while Ngeye emerged champions in netball after beating Mmamba to a 37-35 score.
