President Museveni has directed that outdoor sports activities should resume but under strict guidelines to avoid the spread of Coronavirus.
In March, government ordered all sports activities to stop as one of the measures to combat the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
On Sunday, the President said it is high time the outdoor sports disciplines resume as the country gradually reopens following a six-month lockdown.
“Open air activities of sports without spectators will reopen. We must learn to continue without spectators because these can watch on television,” Museveni said.
Strict guidelines
The President however said the outdoor sports disciplines can reopen under strict guidelines to be followed to ensure players don’t get infected with the virus.
“Players must be tested 72 hours before the games and every 14 days, they must test again. Indoor sports activities including gym remain closed because the virus spreads more in enclosed spaces.”
The resumption of sports activities comes after months of uncertainty since March when every activity that brings together large groups of people was closed by government.
Consequently, several leagues and tournaments in various sports disciplines were either called off or cancelled.
For example, in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League Vipers were declared champions after the league was cancelled.
However, the latest move to force teams to test players test players before resumption of the sports activities and after every two weeks would prove costly.
Starting September, 1,2020, government started charging people and organisations shs240,500 to be tested for Coronavirus.
All people who need to carry out tests in government testing facilities are expected to deposit money into a COVID-19 account that has been set up to collect money for the tests.
Consequently, this will greatly affect a number of teams.
For example, a football club with 18 players will need shs4.3 million after every two weeks for testing their players which would prove costly.
