Uganda Boxing Federation, Uganda Table Tennis Association attain full National Sports Federation status under new sports law

By Emmanuel Sekago

The Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) and the Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA) have officially become fully registered National Sports Federations after satisfying all the statutory requirements under the National Sports Act, Cap. 151, marking a major milestone in the implementation of Uganda’s new sports governance framework.

According to a circular dated July 20, 2026, signed by the National Council of Sports (NCS) General Secretary, Dr. Bernard Patrick Ogwel, the two federations successfully met all the legal, governance, operational and administrative requirements prescribed under the National Sports Act, Cap. 151 and the National Sports Regulations, 2025.

The circular, seen by Wallnetnews Digital, states that the evaluation established Uganda Boxing Federation and Uganda Table Tennis Association had fully complied with all statutory requirements for registration after an extensive nationwide verification exercise.

To ensure consistency, fairness and objectivity, NCS conducted physical verification exercises between June 23 and June 27, 2026, to establish whether applicant National Sports Organisations (NSOs) had addressed previously identified governance, operational and statutory compliance gaps before final registration reports were submitted to the NCS Board.

The registration exercise follows the enactment of the National Sports Act in August 2023 and the commencement of Section 7 through the National Sports Act (Commencement of Section 7) Instrument No. 23 of 2025, together with the gazettement of the National Sports Regulations, 2025.

Applications for registration closed on June 20, 2025, after guidance from the Minister of State for Education and Sports (Sports).

Out of the 51 National Sports Organisations previously recognised under the old legal framework, 45 submitted applications while six organisations failed to apply within the stipulated period. Those excluded from the process include the Uganda Ultimate Frisbee Association, Uganda Floorball Association, Uganda Deaf Sports Federation, Association of Uganda University Sports (AUUS), Uganda Rollball Association and Uganda Body Building and Fitness Association. NCS has since commenced legal processes to revoke their Certificates of Recognition.

In line with Section 12 of the National Sports Act, all applications were published in the Uganda Gazette, attracting 20 objections against eight applicant organisations. The objections centred on governance disputes, leadership legitimacy, financial accountability, national spread, district representation, constitutional amendments and court cases.

Following preliminary reviews, NCS carried out nationwide due diligence across 115 districts before granting applicant federations five working days to address identified compliance gaps.

While 42 organisations responded by submitting additional documentation, three organisations namely the Scrabble Association of Uganda, VX Uganda and Uganda Handball Association failed to respond.

Among the organisations affected by objections were Uganda Boxing Federation and Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC), both of which appealed to the Minister of State for Education and Sports.

UBF challenged NCS findings relating to national spread, while UPBC sought recognition as the governing body for professional boxing. Both appeals were dismissed.

The Minister ruled that UBF had indeed satisfied the statutory national spread requirement but still had to complete registration under the new legal framework before becoming Uganda’s lawful boxing federation. The Minister further affirmed that under Section 7(2) of the National Sports Act only one registered National Sports Organisation can govern a particular sport, effectively rejecting UPBC’s request to independently regulate professional boxing.

Recognising that several federations still required additional time to comply, the NCS Board granted a five-month remedial period beginning January 7, 2026, for organisations without objections and corresponding compliance periods for those whose applications were under objection.

Technical teams were later deployed in February and April 2026 to conduct physical verification visits and provide technical support to applicant organisations.

A unique case also emerged involving the Uganda Dragon Boat Federation and Uganda Canoe Kayak Federation after investigations established that both organisations had submitted falsified audited financial statements on two separate occasions. NCS subsequently initiated rejection proceedings under Section 12(3)(d) of the National Sports Act.

Following the expiry of the first compliance window on June 7, 2026, NCS received 34 compliance submissions.

Although their compliance periods had not yet expired, Uganda Boxing Federation, Uganda Table Tennis Association, Cricket Uganda and Uganda Draughts Federation voluntarily submitted their compliance documentation early.

Technical evaluation confirmed that Uganda Boxing Federation and Uganda Table Tennis Association had fully complied with all statutory requirements, while Cricket Uganda and Uganda Draughts Federation were instructed to rectify outstanding deficiencies before expiry of their compliance periods.

After reviewing all submissions, the NCS Board, during its sitting on July 17, 2026, resolved to immediately issue Certificates of Registration to the fully compliant National Sports Organizations.

The eleven federations confirmed as fully compliant are Netball Uganda, Pool Association of Uganda, Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), Uganda DanceSport Federation, Badminton Uganda, Uganda Athletics, Uganda Chess Federation, Uganda Table Tennis Association, Uganda Tennis Association, Uganda Boxing Federation and Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA)

Beginning with the 2026/2027 Financial Year, only registered National Sports Organisations will qualify for government funding through the National Council of Sports.

Federations that fail to obtain registration will lose eligibility for government grants, official representation and participation in NCS-administered programmes until they comply with the law.

According to Dr. Ogwel, the registration exercise represents a transformative milestone in strengthening governance, transparency, accountability and institutional integrity within Uganda’s sports sector while ensuring that all National Sports Organisations operate in full compliance with the National Sports Act, Cap. 151.

He added that NCS remains committed to implementing the law fairly and consistently while working closely with stakeholders to build credible, professionally managed sports federations capable of promoting sports development across Uganda.