Netball—Once Uganda’s Pride, now facing uncertain future

By Emmanuel Sekago

Netball has long been a beloved sport in Uganda, bringing pride and recognition to the nation, especially under the leadership of Babirye Sarah.

The Uganda Netball Women’s National Team, known as the She Cranes, made significant strides on the international stage, solidifying netball’s status as a powerful brand that attracted numerous corporate sponsors.

One of the team’s most remarkable achievements was their impressive performance at the 2022 Fast5 Netball World Series in New Zealand. Making their maiden appearance in this elite competition, the She Cranes finished 5th, winning two out of their five games.

After an initial loss to New Zealand (32-49), Uganda bounced back with a dominant victory over Jamaica (33-22), narrowly lost to England (38-35), and then secured a historic win against Australia (32-30), which stands as one of the biggest victories in Ugandan netball history.

The She Cranes continued their impressive form at the 2023 Netball World Cup, where they stunned hosts South Africa to finish fifth. This victory was particularly sweet as it avenged a loss to South Africa at the 2019 World Cup in Liverpool. The 49-47 win marked Uganda’s best-ever finish at the World Cup and propelled the She Cranes to the top position in African netball rankings.

This achievement was a culmination of years of progress, starting from their debut in Trinidad & Tobago, where they finished joint 13th, to coming 8th in 2015 in Australia, and then 7th in 2019 in England.

Netball’s popularity in Uganda surged, with the national league attracting corporate sponsorship and the sport being played at various levels—from village tournaments to district, regional, and national competitions.

A fully fledged secretariat and respectful offices were established, giving the sport the structure and publicity it needed to thrive. The number of schools playing netball increased across primary, secondary, and higher institutions, indicating a healthy and growing grassroots foundation.

However, the sport’s bright future has dimmed significantly following the National Council of Sports’ decision to revoke the Uganda netball federations’ certificate of recognition.

This move has resulted in the suspension of the national league and prevented Uganda from participating in continental and international competitions. It has been nine months since this decision, and there are no signs that the situation will improve. As a result, netball has been relegated to a pastime in schools, with young, talented players seeing their future prospects in the sport evaporate.

The lack of competitive netball has also impacted clubs that used to recruit or sign players, turning netball into a luxury sport rather than a competitive pursuit. The situation appears to stem from allegations of corruption within the National Council of Sports, which some believe led to punitive actions against Babirye Sarah, who exposed these issues.

The sport, once a source of national pride, is now languishing, and Uganda’s potential in producing professional netball players is being squandered.

It is time for stakeholders to wake up and take action to revive netball in Uganda. The sport has demonstrated its potential to uplift and unite the nation, and it deserves to be saved from its current decline.

The young girls who aspire to play netball professionally, the fans who cherish the sport, and the sponsors who have supported it all deserve a vibrant and thriving netball scene in Uganda once again.

Meanwhile, Uganda possesses some of the finest netball talents globally, yet the country has yet to break the shell to join the top five ranked nations. The recently released rankings by World Netball put Uganda sixth, a leap from eighth. It also placed the Pearl of Africa second on the continent, just behind South Africa. At the moment Uganda cant improve its ranking because of the Revoking of the certificate.