• Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Login
Watchdog Uganda
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News
No Result
View All Result
Watchdog Uganda
No Result
View All Result

“Sports must go with discipline”- President Museveni tips athletes

Watchdog Uganda by Watchdog Uganda
2 years ago
in National, News
12 0
ShareTweetSendShare

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has advised athletes that they must be disciplined if they want to go far with their sports careers.

“Alcohol, prostitution, fighting and all that, don’t go well with sports and they can ruin your life. Sports must go with discipline and the fear of the Lord, then your future will be bright,” President Museveni said.

The President made the remarks today as he hosted a group of athletes to a State luncheon at State House Entebbe. The luncheon was organised by the President and the First Lady who also serves as the Minister of Education and Sports, Maama Janet Museveni.

The athletes included those who participated in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest-Hungary and National School Teams that participated in the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA).

President Museveni also congratulated the teams that have been doing well for Uganda in the past years. 

“In the recent past, you have just heard about the performance in Oregon, Budapest and in Rwanda. Before that we had Tokyo where we watched the Olympics. I really want to thank you.  I’m an old sportsman and a sports enthusiast as well as some sort of sports historian because I have been watching the performance of our teams, starting with the one of 1954 in Perth, Australia,” he said.

President Museveni revealed that sports development in Uganda was a bit delayed due to bad politics in the past regimes where the country’s economy totally collapsed.

“But even during that bad time in 1972, that is when Akii-Bua won his hurdles in Munich, Germany. By the time we came into the government in 1986, the system of the country had really collapsed. Therefore, we concentrated on minimum recovery of the economy, the expansion of the small modern sector, diversification and then introducing the new sectors which were not there before,” he said.

“What I can say now is that we have not yet started because we have not really done so much for sports specifically. We have not yet started seriously to take advantage of our potential.”

President Museveni also welcomed the concept of developing minimum zonal infrastructure to promote sports from the grassroot. 

“Having two stadiums per zone in all the 19 zones. That is a very good idea, we shall study it and we shall have to determine whether we put this zonal infrastructure in schools or one in school and one in public. That would be a very good beginning for those zonal competitions to take place.”

On the other hand, the President underscored the role of sports in the country.

“I always tell you the value of sports, they are good for fitness , character building, it trains people about the good thing of cooperation since sports needs teamwork, entertainment for the spectators and finally it has become a source of living for the sports people. Therefore, sports should be properly understood and explained to our people,” he said.

“Because of that, even when we had little capacity, that is when I undertook that effort of saying that anybody who wins a gold medal, my Office of State House will give him a monthly stipend of Shs5m, silver medal Shs3m, then the one of bronze I think its Shs1m.”

The President also promised that the beneficiaries that have since missed out on the offer ever since it was put in place, were going to receive their full payments.

He further reiterated his call to attach personalities who are doing well in sports into the prisons, police, army and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), saying that this will help them to have an address and a small salary.

President Museveni also informed the sports men and women that the government was going to allocate a bus to each sports zone in the country.

On her part, Maama Janet lauded the patriotic sports men and women for bringing great pride to Uganda.

“The World Athletics Championship hosted 195 countries and Uganda was ranked 11th out of the 39 countries that won medals. It is worth noting that Uganda ranked higher than renowned countries such as: Australia, Greece, Japan, France and China, and for that, all Honor and glory goes to our God. Furthermore, Uganda was placed 3rd, in Africa after Kenya and Ethiopia.  We thank God for this achievement,” the First Lady said.

She urged the sports men and women to work harder to ensure that Uganda becomes the best in the sports arena of Africa and the world at large.

“We may have improved on our sports record as we see here but being number 3 or number 11 is not enough, we should work more to be the best.”

At the same event, Joshua Cheptegei and Victor Kiplangat were honoured.

“Our celebrated Gold Medalists! We note with gratitude that Joshua Cheptegei has won Gold at this event, three times: in Doha 2019, Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023. Victor Kiplangat, on the other hand, is the reigning Commonwealth Games Marathon Champion for Birmingham 2022. In addition to this remarkable track record, some athletes set “Personal Bests Records” and “Season Bests Records”, at the Championship and thus by the efforts of our athletes, Uganda earned her space as part of that history,” the Minister said.

Maama Janet also appealed to the Government to enhance talent identification and development in more than 75% of the districts, by increasing the Annual Subvention to the Uganda Athletics Federation, from the current amount of 3 billion, to at least 10 billion Uganda shillings.

“We also urge the Government to promote this sport, by paying stipends to athletes who win medals at all the continental and global events, and to take into account the current outstanding pledges and stipends,” she said.

“Furthermore, we call for the operationalization of the National Anti-doping Organization (NADO) in Uganda, to avoid the Country being declared non-compliant. This will require minor amendments to the recently passed National Sports Act, so as to enable compliance with the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) Code.”

She further appealed to the Government, to support the hosting of the Annual Continental Cross Country Tour, which will carry on the legacy of the World Cross Country Championships Kampala 2017; and the Africa U18 and U20 Athletics Championships in 2025.

The First Lady also tasked sports stakeholders to direct more attention to the FEASSSA teams that have carried Uganda’s National Flag to various international competitions, where they emerged victorious.

“Today, we stand tall, filled with pride and deep gratitude for the achievements in the Sports Sub Sector, which I attribute to the selfless commitment of the young sports men and women, as well as the support from their school administration, and the National Sports Federations and Associations,” Maama Janet stressed.

“I also congratulate my Team at the Ministry of Education and Sports, and National Council of Sports for their dedication and support. These successes demonstrate that the Government is now receiving a positive return on investment from the Sports Subsector, which has significantly increased Uganda’s international marketing and foreign exchange earnings, while also promoting our socio-economic development,” she added.

The Minister further highlighted that Uganda now competes favourably in the international sports arena, because of the firm foundation created in sports in schools, explaining that the scope of international competitions is now broader than in the past, with school sports competitions going beyond the Federation of East African Secondary School Sports Games.

Regarding the national development of sports infrastructure, Maama Janet was pleased to report that the Mandela Stadium refurbishment is progressing well.

Mr. Justus Mugisha, the president of Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association thanked President Museveni and Maama Janet for supporting sports in the country.

“The support and facilitation you have been giving us has enabled us to continue winning,” Mr. Mugisha said.

The top five secondary schools in sports were also awarded. The schools include; St. Mary’s Kitende, Kibuli S.S, St. Noah Girls Secondary School, Kawempe Muslim S.S and Budo S.S.

The luncheon was also attended by the Minister of State for Sports, Hon. Peter Ogwang, Members of Parliament, officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports and Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association, among others.


Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
Share2Tweet2SendShare

Related Posts

National

20-year-old Woman Arrested After Dr’ Spire’s Death at Kajjansi Lodge

2nd July 2025 at 22:19
News

Uganda Woos UAE Investors with Vast Opportunities in Agriculture and Tourism

1st July 2025 at 20:07
News

Born To Cry: The Tragic Reality of Birth Asphyxia In Uganda As Government Launches My Baby’s Cry Campaign

1st July 2025 at 19:46
Next Post
The late Dr. David Kazungu,  Hon. Milly Babalanda and President Museveni

President Museveni orders official burial for former Minister David Kazungu

  • Prostitution in Uganda- Courtesy Photo

    10 dangerous hotspots known for prostitutes in Kampala

    1106 shares
    Share 442 Tweet 277
  • LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

    2285 shares
    Share 914 Tweet 571
  • Uganda’s Billionaires 2025: Once Again Sudhir Ruparelia Leads a Resilient Pack

    41 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • LIST : Gov’t releases Revised Salary Structure for Teachers, Police, and Prisons Staff for FY 2024/2025

    118 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 30
  • LATEST LIST: New salary structure for all Ugandan civil servants starting July 2021

    1152 shares
    Share 461 Tweet 288
Facebook Twitter

Contact Information

Watchdog Uganda is a portal for solution journalism, trending news plus cutting edge commentaries in the fields of politics, security, business, tourism, entertainment, technology, agriculture, climate change, environment, public health et al. We also give preference to Ugandan community news and topical discussions. The portal also publishes community news and topical discussions.

Email: editorial@watchdoguganda.com
To Advertise:Click here

Latest News

John Bosco Muwonge: The Man Powering Kampala’s Economic Heart Beat

3rd July 2025 at 21:40
Ms Irene Naikaali Ssentongo,Country Director, 
The Hunger Project – Uganda

OP-ED: Epicenters of progress, accelerating the Parish Development Model

3rd July 2025 at 20:10

Check out

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Minister Muruli Mukasa

LIST: New salary structure for civil servants starting July 2020 out; scientists, lecturers get juicy pay rise

24th May 2020 at 10:45
Pregnant woman

Shock as 17-year old boy impregnates his two sisters during Covid-19 lockdown 

17th June 2020 at 08:17
Sudhir Ruparelia is set to speak at business forum in United Kingdom

Billionaire Sudhir’s wisdom on how to invest in real estate

0

How a boy’s destiny turned from cotton grower to communications guru

0

John Bosco Muwonge: The Man Powering Kampala’s Economic Heart Beat

3rd July 2025 at 21:40
Ms Irene Naikaali Ssentongo,Country Director, 
The Hunger Project – Uganda

OP-ED: Epicenters of progress, accelerating the Parish Development Model

3rd July 2025 at 20:10

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • National
    • Politics
    • World News
    • Media Outreach Newswire
    • Africa News
    • Tourism
    • Community News
    • Luganda
    • Sports
      • Football
      • Motorsport
  • Op-Ed
    • #Out2Lunch
    • Conversations with
    • Politics
    • Relationships
  • Business
    • Agriculture
    • CEOs & Entrepreneurs,
    • Companies
    • Finance
    • Products
    • RealEstate
    • Technology
  • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
  • People
    • Showbiz
      • Salon Mag
  • Special Report
    • Education
    • Voices
  • Reviews
    • Products
    • Events
    • Hotels
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • WD-TV
  • Donate
  • China News

© 2025 Watchdog Uganda