MP Kayemba Ssolo urges foreign investors to support Ugandan sports clubs

• MP Geoffrey Kayemba Ssolo urges government policy for investor-funded support to local sports clubs.
• He suggests Uganda adopt Ethiopia’s approach, requiring companies to affiliate with sports clubs to obtain investment licenses.
• Speaker Anita Among acknowledges the proposal and highlights the need to align it with the existing Sports Act.

Bukomansimbi South MP Geoffrey Kayemba Ssolo has called on government to create a policy that compels both local and international investors in Uganda to directly support sports clubs as a condition for doing business.

Raising the matter during a plenary session, Kayemba said that most football and sports clubs survive on the personal sacrifices of passionate individuals, which is unsustainable.

“People who run these football clubs and other sports like boxing get this money from their own pockets. I want to call upon government to have a policy where all investors, whether international or local, put a certain percentage into sports,” Kayemba stated.

The legislator further suggested that Uganda should borrow a page from Ethiopia, where companies must affiliate with a sports club to secure an investment license. He argued this would channel more resources into sports, boosting opportunities for athletes.

“In Ethiopia every company has to be affiliated with a sports club — either netball, boxing or football — to get an investment license. I think that will help us develop more players and stronger clubs,” he added.

In response, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among welcomed the proposal but advised that such measures should align with the existing Sports Act.

“Thank you very much. I want to refer to the Sports Act, which already has a provision for incentives. We shall look into it next time as we prepare the taxes for the next financial year,” Among said.

It should be noted that the state of sports is still poor in the country with many clubs lacking sponsors. Even those who have sponsorship deals earn peanuts which makes running the clubs a hectic job. This is no wonder why most clubs usually have a quick fall from grace to grass such as Onduparaka FC.