Sports amenities and facilities in Uganda are no stranger to faults and several grey areas.
Many facilities are lie in dilapidated state; with bare ground, no perimeter fencing, dressing rooms, fan stands or sanitary facilities.
In line with the aforementioned, the current state of Ibanda district recreation centre, (Ssaza playground) is terribly worrying.
The playground has in fact bid farewell to football and other sports activities as it has been abandoned, hosting trade shows, music concerts and it is now a dumping site of garbage.
“The district sports centre is in a sorry state after a two weeks trade show conducted in the same place and on the playground turf and other unsporting activities” Dissan Ssebuuma attests.
A few months ago, the Uganda football governing body (FUFA) also banned the pitch from hosting any sports activity under the same body because of its poor state.
Ibanda Municipal Football Club, the area based football team playing in the Western regional League has since shifted its base from the same venue to Nyakateete, a relatively distant locality from the municipal center.
In an exclusive interview with the Ibanda municipality speaker, Liberty Agaba, he confesses that the district still has full control over the playground, but not the municipality which would have developed it.
It has also been established that a number of well-wishers, including Dr Patrick Bitatule, a known entrepreneur in Uganda and a native of this area requested to develop the Ibanda Ssaza playground to support sports in the district but the Ibanda district council reasoned otherwise.
Unless a big miracle happens, there is a strong case to worry owing to the current trend of matters at hand.
The play-ground is decimated by foot marks, the little green that has remained is fodder for cattle, sheep and goats and worse of all, it has become a dumping ground of sorts.
The case of Ibanda main play ground is one among the many across the country where community recreation fields have been taken for granted.
Government has at times come up with the proposals to develop regional sports facilities but such great ideas remain on paper and take ages to be implemented.
Currently, the Pece War Memorial Stadium and Akii Bua Stadium in Gulu and Lira are beneficiaries.
The renovation process of Buhinga Stadium in Fort portal continues to take effect.
Due credit goes to the local community in Mbale collectively that joined hands to re-green the Mbale Municipal Stadium.
By and large, the concern of sports facilities renovation and maintenance needs urgent address and now.
