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The good news: Sport to resume
On the Sunday night of September 20, President Museveni, in his national address announced that the restrictions on sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic had been eased. This is an announcement that the sporting fraternity in Uganda had been yearning for since the lockdown was imposed more than 180 days ago.
This easing of restrictions came with a set of conditions that must be fulfilled for sport to resume. The president revealed that only sports activities in open-air venues were to be allowed to take place, albeit without spectators. Indoor sports activities, including gyms, were to remain closed.
He said that all players must be tested for COVID-19 before the games (72 hours to be exact) and that the test would expire in 14 days. Meaning that players would need to be tested every fortnight. And then added that for tournaments, teams would have to be quarantined for the whole period of the tournament.
The reality check: Sport cannot afford to resume
No sooner had the President ended his national address than the excitement over the resumption of sport faded. Only a handful, if any, of the sports disciplines would be able to meet the conditions set for the return to play. Rugby, which has been known to generally struggle financially, is in an even more difficult position. This is because it was classified as a high-risk sport, and also because of the numbers required for a match to be played.
Let’s do some simple maths on how much it could cost for rugby to resume.
Uganda Rugby Union subscribes to the COVID-19 return to play guidelines published by World Rugby. The document containing these guidelines includes an example illustration of the number of stakeholders required to deliver a match without spectators. With some knowledge on the status quo in Uganda, an estimated 74 people are needed for a single match to be played. These include players, medical teams, technical benches, water and kit boys, medical personnel and match officials (this number is 100 less than that suggested in the World Rugby document). Excluded are broadcasters, stadium operations and security officers.
As revealed by the Ministry of Health, a single COVID-19 test costs UGX240,500. This means that UGX17,797,000 is needed for the mandatory COVID-19 testing alone per match. Since the Uganda Rugby Union is intent on completing the men’s top flight premier league in 2 weeks, only one test will be carried out.
This week’s quiz question:
Which rugby club hosted the first circuit of the 2019 Uganda Rugby National Sevens Series?
Answer is at the end of this newsletter.
Many questions remain unanswered from the president’s address. Like, who is going to foot the bill for these mandatory tests, and other costs? Is it the government, the Uganda Rugby Union, the clubs, or will the individual players take care of themselves?
Realistically, neither the players nor their clubs can afford to do so. If the union were to foot this COVID-19 tests bill, they would need about UGX89milion for all the matches. The only way possible for this condition to be met is if the government offered a helping hand to rugby, and other sports that are on their knees knocking at its doors.
That is how much is needed just for COVID-19 testing. Now add the cost of quarantining the players for the period of the competition, transportation. Plus the day-to-day costs of running the club mid-season.
Furthermore, are the clubs, rugby facilities and players willing and ready, to take part in the resumption of sport? Who is going to be responsible for making what decisions? And the risks involved, have all the possible scenarios been investigated and ruled out?
For a sport that is still amateur and where majority of the players do not depend on it for a livelihood, the risks and costs seem to outweigh the need to return to play of rugby in Uganda.
Asked if it is safe and financially possible for Ugandan rugby to return at the moment, your guess is as good as mine.
Quiz answer: Toyota Buffaloes. On May 25 at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds.
Thanks for reading Kawowo Rugby Switch this week. Reply to this email or reach me via ernest@kawowo.com for feedback and other relevant discussions on this topic.
