H.E President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed the suspension of all sports activities and events in across the country for the next 42 days as the country countinues to grapple with surging Covid19 cases.
The development is among the long list of mesures the president announced on Friday evening as the fight for the spread of Covid19 hightens.
“All public gatherings including sports activities are suspended for the next 42 days.” Museveni speaking from State House Nakasero said.
The new measures, that all but confirmed a total lock down, comes just eight days when the President announced 42 days of partial lockdown.
Then, Sports was spared and sporting activities have been taking place with strict adherence of SOPs.
Sports activities were first halted in March 2020 when the initial lockdown was put in place but was resumed to take place as the first lockdown was eased in starggered manner.
But the latest development means that all sporting events are forthwith halted.
What Next For Sports?
The Suspension comes when the Uganda Premier League was at the business end. The matchday 27 was set to continue on Saturday with two fixtures!
The biggest hit will be the National teams of Football and Basketball that were preparing for the upcoming events.
The Uganda Kobs (Under 23) team of 40 players were about to enter camp for the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup.
The Gazelles, Uganda Women Basketball team, were to start preparations for Afrobasket Zone Five Championship Qualifiers.
Many qualified athletes are still having Olympics preparations in various parts of the country ahead of the Tokyo games.
It is expected that the National teams and the Olympic bound athletes will be given priority to continue with the preparations.
The National Hockey League was ongoing while Ugandan rally drivers that have qualified for the World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally 2021 that will be taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, have also been affected.
Last year, FUFA handed the title to Vipers and it remains to be seen if leaders Express FC will be crowned champions for the seventh time.
The Uganda Cup was at the semifinal stage, awaiting draws, while the Big League playoffs were also due this month.
However, with an upsurge in Covid19 deaths, ‘healthy first’ has been the inevitable priority.
