In an effort to improve the game of Badminton, the Uganda Badminton Association (UBA) has introduced corporate league which will attract corporate players and companies to participate in this year’s events.
This was revealed by the Association’s president Evelyn Kisakye at the opening of the 2023 calendar events at Lugogo based MTN arena on January 28, 2023. She said that the introduction of corporate league will help to attract sponsors into the game from corporate companies.
According to Kisakye, the 2023 national league apart from the elite league will also feature the corporate league which will have 6 teams and the school league is back on the annual calendar after absence for 2 years due to the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“ The main objective of this year’s league is to develop players from schools whom we hope will get into the elite league and eventually integrate the best into the national teams, luring corporate sponsorship is also our priority ’’. Kisakye said.
She further said that due to the introduction of the corporate league, all former stars like Ivan Kalimunda, Gladys Mbabazi and Norah Nasimbwa will be back in the game and the younger talents will be able to learn from them very well.
Simon Mugabi the UBA chief executive officer says that despite financial challenges faced by the association, the they have been able to commence the national league and they are looking also at the schools’ league when the schools’ calendar year starts.
“ We have started at a positive note because the teams we expected to feature in the national league have turned up and this has given us an encouragement also to plan for other leagues like the corporate and the schools’ leagues respectively’’. Mugabi said.
He further said that they consider ties unlike in the game of football where ate the end of the match a team wins being on goals scored, here a team with the highest number of ties takes the win.
There are six clubs in the main super league and seven in the corporate family during the 2023 Uganda Badminton League that will last for at least six months.
Weekend results
Ndejje University 5-0 Kampala Badminton Club (KBC)
Mbogo High Warriors 3-2 CFK Patriots Badminton Club
Victoria University Wasps 3-2 Kampala Badminton Club (KBC) A
By George Bukenya