Ordinarily, the common Ugandan gets to interact with hockey through school. For the most part, secondary level of education and development programmes laced through foundations and different clubs. The Hockey community could boost a decent 4000 population, fully embedded in competitions and activities, or as a bystander.
The game’s trait to create a family away from home is a significant pull for admirers. The networks between Clubs and the public create an unbreakable bond. It is the kind of social capital that has breathed life in the club’s health and business clubs. The clubs go further than sport; social networks, associations, brainstorm avenues and opportunity gatherers.
For active athletes, appearing at the continent is a deserved badge of honour, a handful like Emmanuel Baguma, Ashraf Tumwesigye, Colline Batusa , Innocent Mbabali and Timothy Ntumba have attained. The players have gone on to pursue professional careers in countries like Italy, while several offers are still coming in.
Back home, a rendition is alive-several players have proudly donned the coveted national colors for various National Teams in the FIH Test Series and Hockey Africa Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana, while a dozen curved into technical capacity, taking up courses with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in management of the sport.
Some of the decorated FIH certified Technical Officers include: Nsereko Moses, Sandra Namusoke, Kasasa Vincent (Coaches), Kenneth Tamale, Stanley Tamale, Desire Mukisa, Raskara Innocent (Umpires), Joshua Masawi, Ntegeka George, Aisha Kagere, Auma Vicky Gloria (Technical Officers) among others.
This has been supplemented with Sports Administrator Courses and the Advanced Sports Management Courses by Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) and not less, a litany of international offered courses.
Field hockey has revolutionized the importance of education in the country. Institutions of learning have prioritized the need for Sport, awarding bursaries and scholarships to athletes, while the community has happily reciprocated by investing in education for capacity leverage and nation building.
Such endavours are credited for bettering the literacy rates within the hockey community and far beyond, the country.
Then the BLOCKBUSTER entry of broadcasting. This milestone thanks to inventions in mediums like NBS Sport, the game took a monumental leap, recruiting audiences, attracting several brands to associate with Uganda Hockey Association and the Community. Some of these brands include: ABSA Bank, JIBU Water.
This sport is not only homely, but has the innate ability to transform lives, become an income generating avenue / employment hub for youths and across several classes. Such inroads have already recruited interest from a community now cheerfully breeding hockey related craftsmen in umpiring, working with hockey foundations such as Hope skills Hockey foundation, Hockey Dreams Foundation and Incredible Sports hub.
In these foundations Sports men and women have extend an olive branch to the community. This form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has proven to be the much-needed spine to sport as an eternal factor in life. The call is for the rest to sail along, hockey has already taken the captain seat.
IMAGINE A FUTURE WITH MORE OF THE SAME!
Contributor – BAINE BRIDGET