Do you love sports? Sports and being a Ugandan are intricately intertwined given that sports is part of the culture of Uganda. In our country, sports is something of a religion, and no matter what our differences are, we all worship at the sporting altar.
Sports in Uganda have always and will always unite people from every walk of life from the young to the old, males and females. Who will forget those moments when our own Ugandan Kiprotich won a gold medal in the 2012 UK Olympics or the matches were Cranes won in our Namboole stadium, and everyone danced with joy as we showed the world how strong we are when we unite our voices, hearts and minds.
Did you know that Uganda is one of the top countries in the world that are fun of the English Premier League? Most Ugandans are more up to date with the English premier leage or the Champions League than the local news. You cannot easily travel Uganda without seeing a Manchester united or Arsenal Tshirt and if you are to urge with Ugandans about international sports be prepared with enough facts.
When it comes to sports, Ugandans are passionate to the highest degree! Soccer is the most popular sport in the country, with the Uganda Cranes boys being demi-gods in their own right. When there is a football match at Namboole Stadium, don’t dare take the Jinja Road if you are not a soccer fan! On any weekend our soccer grounds are full to the brim with chanting fans wooing their favorite teams and players. The sound of thousands of vuvuzelas at a soccer match, the roar of the home crowd as the crowd, the thundering applause as our heroes and heroines send the competition packing… that’s the sound of victory coming from true Ugandans.
Athletics comes as close second and they continue to do us proud, recently having brought home the gold and the sliver medals. The SheCranes, a netball team for the country is one of the best on the African continent and we are still climbing to the top positions. The Namboole Stadiums is the ultimate war zones on any given Saturday afternoon when local and international teams wage war between the posts.
Although basket ball was once seen as a ‘whites-only’ sport, it is now a favorite sport with Ugandan youth as they keep on supporting teams like; powers and the Falcons as they continue to enthrall and delight the crowds.
