Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed that sports in the country will resume after the coronavirus pandemic is put under control.
The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) had suspended the Ugandan Premier League (UPL) on March 19 after the government of the country banned all social and public gatherings due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Football fans across the country had expectations that the country would let football games be played pretty soon behind closed doors. The President of Uganda has now poured cold water on that insisting sports in the country is not the priority at the moment.
“Sports can wait,” Museveni said.
“For instance, I am also a sportsman and used to play football.
“I last played football in 1966 but when things were not going well in our country, I joined the struggle and I forgot about football. I also played cricket but I let it go.”
After the 32-day lockdown period was done in the country, the UPL was expected to resume on April 19, but was extended because the situation in Uganda was yet to be under control.
Moses Magogo the FUFA president remains positive the 2019/2020 Uganda Premier League season will be complete.
If the league ends up not being concluded, article 18 (ii) of the FUFA competition rules states that if teams have played more than 75% of their matches, and the league is abandoned owing to force majeure then the current standing can be used to conclude the season.
On the other hand, if less than 75% of league matches have been played, the football federation and the league managers will rely on the current league standing after the first round of matches.
80% of the UPL matches had already been played before the league was suspended, with Vipers SC on top of the table with 54 points from 25 matches, they are four points ahead of second placed defending champions KCCA FC.
At the bottom of the table, Proline FC, Maroon FC and Tooro United could be relegated as they are the bottom three sides on the log.