Uganda U-21 men Lacrosse team in training at Mehta stadium, Lugazi
  • 2022 World U-21 Lacrosse Championships:
  • 10th – 20th August – University of Limerick, Ireland

Uganda will field a strong team at the 2022 World U-21 Lacrosse Championship in Ireland slated for 10th–20th August at the University of Limerick.

The team has a delegation of 19 players and 6 officials led by the team manager, Jeremy Phillips, head coach Patrick Oriana and Uganda Lacrosse Association (ULA) president Ken Kasule.

National Council of Sports’ official James Kasumba officially flagged off the team on Friday, 5th August 2022.

Flag-off for the Uganda U-21 Lacrosse men team at the National Council of Sports (NCS)

Uganda team captain George Ogik vowed to stage a spirited display at the championship.

“First of all, this is a dream come true for me and everyone on the team. It really feels good to go and represent our country at the tournament,” team captain Ogik noted.

I’m honored to be part of this team. I believe they will do well at the championship. This is the second generation of Lacrosse players in Uganda, the first generation are now administrators. It’s good to see the game grow here.

Jeremy Phillips, Uganda Lacrosse U-21 team manager
Uganda U-21 Lacrosse team after a Gym session

A record 23 teams will compete in this championship.

The other countries will include; Kenya, hosts Ireland, Hong Kong, China, USA, Canada, Australia, Israel, China, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Wales, and Haudenosaunee.

This will be the largest ever age group World Championship staged by World Lacrosse.

Originally an U19 World Championship, the World Lacrosse membership in 2020 approved a change in the upper age of eligibility, raising the event to U20.

Due to postponement brought about by the global pandemic, the upper age of eligibility for the men’s age group World Championship is being raised on a one-time basis to U21 for 2022.

Talk session for the Uganda U-21 Lacrosse team during training at Mehta Stadium, Lugazi

The Men’s Under-19 World Championships commenced in 1988 with Australia, the USA, Japan, and Canada playing host.

The championship tournament runs every four years.

The USA has won all seven previous championships, but with two losses in the tournament in 2012 held in Turku, Finland, during the round-robin stage, signs of increased parity were showing.

David Isabirye is a senior staff writer for Kawowo Sports where he covers most of the major events.

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