In an exclusive with Kawowo Sports, Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) Chairman Bashir Ansasira revealed that the association has resources to finally purchase their own land.
Cricket has three major facilities Lugogo, Kyambogo, and Entebbe it uses for hosting international games but the competition for these particular facilities has constrained some of their plans.
All the facilities are not owned by UCA. Lugogo is managed by NCS, Kyambogo is owned by the university while the Entebbe Golf Club owns the lakeside oval.
This is kind of arrangement has sometimes left UCA in the middle especially in times when the owners have competing needs for their facilities. Two years ago, UCA was involved in a public spat with NCS when the latter gave Zoe Ministries a two-year tenancy to use the cricket oval for their Tuesday evening services. The spat nearly derailed the relationship between the two entities but they were able to kiss and make up.
The lessons from such incidences were clear signs from UCA that the game needs to have its own home. A place that would be dedicated to cricket 365 days of the year, the process to do this was initiated by the board to find a suitable location for the future of the game.
And Ansasira made it clear that UCA has secured the resources required to buy at least 10 acres of land to play cricket.
I can confidently assure you that Uganda Cricket now has the funds to buy land as soon as we find a great location. This should be the legacy I leave for cricket after my tenure and I hope we can at least play some tennis cricket on the location.
Bashir Ansasira, UCA Chairman
The chairman didn’t put a figure to the amount of money or source of the money saved by UCA but most of it should be from internally generated savings.
Home of cricket is a project that has been long overdue and if Ansasira and his team can pull it off, then that would be a huge milestone for the current board.
