Opinion: Student athletes deserve better than being abandoned after national duty

By Emmanuel Sekago

There is growing frustration among schools, parents, and sports administrators over the manner in which some National Sports Federations and Associations treat student athletes who suffer injuries while representing Uganda on national duty.

The issue has exposed a troubling reality that many schools have quietly endured for years. Student athletes are called upon to serve their country, wear the national jersey with pride, and compete at regional, continental, and international competitions. Yet when injuries occur, some federations and associations simply walk away from their responsibility.

The athlete is left to suffer. The parents are left to search for money. The school is left to cover medical bills.

That is not how a responsible sports system should operate.

Schools invest heavily in nurturing talent. They provide scholarships, coaching, training facilities, equipment, accommodation, feeding, and medical support throughout the year. They prepare these young athletes physically, mentally, and academically before releasing them to national teams whenever called upon.

However, when an athlete suffers an injury while representing the country, many schools find themselves carrying an additional burden that should ordinarily be handled by the federation or association under whose supervision the player was competing.

This raises a fundamental question: What responsibility do National Sports Federations and Associations have toward athletes once they wear the national colors?

Some federations are quick to summon players for training camps, qualifiers, championships, and international tournaments. They proudly celebrate victories and achievements when the athletes perform well. Yet when one of those same athletes gets injured in service of the nation, there is often little or no follow-up regarding treatment, rehabilitation, or welfare.

Parents are forced into emergency fundraising efforts. Schools are compelled to divert already limited resources to meet hospital expenses. In some cases, careers are interrupted because proper medical attention cannot be secured in time.

That is not athlete development and That is exploitation.

No federation can genuinely claim to prioritize talent development while neglecting the welfare of athletes who make sacrifices to represent the country. A national jersey should symbolize protection, support, and responsibility, not abandonment.

Even more concerning are claims by some federations that they have insurance arrangements for athletes, only for injured student athletes to discover that accessing such support is difficult or, in some cases, impossible. Questions continue to arise about whether insurance coverage adequately extends to school-based athletes who are called into national teams.

If insurance exists, it must be accessible. If welfare policies exist, they must be implemented. If athlete protection frameworks exist, they must work for every athlete regardless of whether they come from a club, school, institution, or academy.

The National Sports Act and the reforms currently being implemented within Uganda’s sports sector place greater emphasis on governance, accountability, and athlete welfare. This presents an opportunity for the National Council of Sports and the Ministry of Education and Sports to demand higher standards from all National Sports Federations and Associations.

No athlete should return from national duty only to become a burden to their parents and school because a federation has failed to fulfill its obligations.

The future of Ugandan sport depends largely on schools. Schools remain the biggest talent development centers in the country. They produce the athletes who later become national stars in football, netball, volleyball, basketball, athletics, rugby, and many other disciplines.

Protecting those athletes must therefore be a collective responsibility.

If National Sports Federations and Associations insist on recruiting athletes from schools to represent Uganda, then they must be prepared to take full responsibility for their welfare before, during, and after national duty.

Anything less is unfair to the athletes, unfair to the schools, and unfair to the future of Ugandan sport.

It is time for National Sports Federations and Associations to stop using student athletes when they are needed and abandoning them when they get injured. The young men and women who proudly represent Uganda deserve far better.