State minister for sports, Peter Ogwang, said that the government is committed to adequately invest in sports infrastructure, as evidenced by the planned construction of two stadiums, Hoima City Stadium and Akii Bua Stadium.
According to him, Hoima City Stadium is a multi-sport facility, meaning it will not only focus on football, athletics, or rugby, but will also have indoor facilities and this also applies to Akii Bua Stadium in Lira.
He made the remarks while officiating an event where a microfinance institution Goldmine finance announced Shilling 2.5 billion sponsorship to the Kira based basketball team JT Jaguars.
Minister noted that by the beginning of this coming month, he is sure the government will sign a formal contract with Summa Construction to construct Hoima City Stadium.
‘’We will also sign a contract early next month with a company which we have identified to construct Akii Bua Stadium. For Kampala Arena, we are now looking at the financing model which is going to be a multi-complex for purposes of all of us to benefit,” Minister added.
Minister however commended Goldmine for identifying and investing in the basked sport, noting that basketball is one of the desired sport in the country and it has a big fun base. ‘’ World over you are well aware that sports is a driver of multinational biasness through such partnerships’’ he emphasized.
Minister also confirmed that the government’s budget for Basketball has increased to Shillings 3 Billion, a significant increase from the meagre Shillings 800 million allocated to the sport before he took office.
Meanwhile, Allan Tayebwa, the MD of Goldmine Finance, noted that the Shillings 2.5 billion sponsorship will be divided into Shillings 500 million each year for the next five years.
He said the funds are intended to support the well-being of the players and purchase sports gear for the squad in local and continental competitions.
‘’Our plans for this basketball team are huge, but today is the first step towards future achievements,” Our dedication to the objectives of CSR is shown in this sponsorship. We recognize and value sports as a unifying force and a major source of passion for our generation. We are investing Shillings 500 million per year and this will be maintained for 5 years dependent on the team’s performance’’. he said.
He noted that the White Jaguars (Ladies’ team) and Black Jaguars (Men’s team) have achieved what many other teams have been unable to do in a very short time.
Dr. JT Nyangenya, the founder and president of JT Jaguars, commended the management of Goldmine Finance for extending such and timely financial support to the team.
‘’JT Jaguars spent one year in Division 1, one year in Division 2, and are now in NBL, the first team to do so’’. He said
He further noted that the story at NBL was that the Jaguars will be relegated because he maintained the young players.
‘’With our consistency, we are now at 9 wins and 7 losses. I think with a lot of assertion that relegation is not there, we are going to playoffs and that is the plan,”.
During the event the club also unveiled the New jerseys for both White Jaguars and Black Jaguars.
JT sports club is a non-profit social enterprise whose mission is to be a voice for sport that promotes the benefits of education, health, personal development and empowerment for all vulnerable and marginalized athletes by building peaceful communities through the power of sport. JT Jaguars was found in 2022.
