Rugby fans in Uganda should brace themselves for a long time before they can be granted permission to enjoy the rugby action they have been deprived of for close to a year as the league resumes on March 6.
According to the Uganda Rugby Union Chief Executive Officer Ramsey Olinga, this is the government’s position on the return of rugby.“Government says no fans in stadiums” an Olinga who echoed that the Union will follow the rules set by the government told the press. This is a preventive measure by the government to mitigate the spread of the novel Corona Virus that saw last season’s league end prematurely.
On the first day of this month, the Uganda Rugby Union announced that they had agreed to return rugby in Uganda a communication that has been widely welcomed with most clubs summoning players for training.
“We had a Chairmen’s round table discussion this evening and they agreed to return to play on 6th March, 2021” read a tweet sent out on their official twitter account.
However, this season’s Nile Special Stout sponsored league will differ from the previous seasons in that it will be played in a single leg round robin format tournament involving 10 clubs.
As confirmed by Olinga, the matches will take place behind closed doors every Saturday from March 6th to May 8th with exception of the Easter weekend.
The Women’s 10s RTP competition that will climax with a National finals tournament will also be played in satellite tournaments in the regions with each holding at least 2 but not more than 3 tournaments.
In a country where most of the rugby grounds are open, we wait to see what measures the Godwin Kayangwe led union will put in place to ensure the government’s no fans policy is followed.