Africa-Press – Uganda. The coronavirus pandemic did not only deny hockey a promising year on-pitch but also what could have been a defining battle for it off-pitch.
Going by the climax of the 2019 season (that stretched to mid-January 2020), where the tussle between Weatherhead and Wananchi went down to virtually the last minutes of the league, the 2020 edition should have been one to watch out for.
Yet even before the pandemic, the scheduled start of the National Hockey League in March was hanging in the balance as National Council of Sports (NCS) had taken over management of the synthetic pitch at Lugogo complex.The construction, management and use of the synthetic hockey pitch, valued at $200,000 (Shs500m), had been jointly overseen by Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) and NCS since 2014.
Under the agreement, NCS would retain ownership of the pitch and make it available, at no cost, to UHA – who had secured the astro from their international body – for a period of 15 years, renewable unless NCS informed UHA before January 1, 2018.
In the past, UHA expressed frustration with NCS who had stopped them from fencing-off the pitch, among others.After UHA hired the pitch to the law fraternity, NCS swung the cuffs, decreeing that UHA would have to seek permission to use the grounds.
This was despite precedent when NCS hired out the pitch for the East Africa Inter-Parliamentary Games as the 2019 season neared climax, forcing the league to end in January 2020. That was also the last time a hockey competition has been held with Wananchi bouncing back twice from the jaws of defeat to beat Weatherhead 4-3 and win the men’s Uganda Baati Hockey League with 63 points.
Getting practical
The crunchy decider left many anticipating the new season but the Covid-19 washed it out. UHA devised a plan to emerge from the pandemic with momentum to accelerate its growth beyond the central region.
Backed by $31,500 (about Shs120m) purse from the International Olympic Committee, UHA rolled out the Development of National Sports Structures Project 2020.First, they conducted classes online run by international expert Waqas Liaqat Butt from Pakistan. A combined 125 individuals from 14 districts around the country earned Level One and Two umpiring and coaching certificates.
This was a huge step from the 17 that benefitted in the first ever such course (Africa Hockey Federation Level One Coaching Course) to be conducted here – by International Hockey Federation (FIH) instructor Teddy Jhite in 2017.The project also later involved training people in communities to take up coaching and umpiring roles with hockey vice president Michael Nashimolo, project local coordinator Vincent Kasasa and coach Susan Khainza travelling to Masaka and Mbarara to train more participants. The same courses were rolled out in Mbale and Gulu in September.
Meanwhile, when the lockdown was lifted, Wananchi’s Innocent Mbabali secured a dream move to Bologna in Italy while UHA tried to return local players to action with a five-week knockout competition, the “Uganda Cup.”The competition, which was open to teams originally entered for the 2020 National League, would borrow from usual Cup tournaments like Easter and Independence for its format but with some extensions in form of classification games.
For subsequent years, this competition will be held alongside the league and other cups but having it earlier would have helped fine-tune players for the Africa Cup qualifiers scheduled for January 18-24, 2021, in Kenya.
Uganda Baati LeagueMEN’s table standing
Team p w d l f a pts1.Wananchi 24 20 3 1 130 19 632.Weatherhead 24 19 3 2 121 21 603.Stallions 24 12 7 5 71 37 434.Makerere 24 8 2 14 49 81 265.Rocket 24 6 4 13 33 83 226.Historicals 24 4 2 18 32 119 147.City Lions 24 3 3 18 22 98 12WOMEN’S TABLETeam P W D L F A Pts1.Wananchi 16 13 1 2 70 14 402.Weatherhead 16 7 3 6 25 22 243.DCU 16 6 4 6 31 24 224.KHC Swans 6 6 4 6 25 36 225.Rhino 16 1 2 13 8 63 5
