Football, the national sport
Soccer (or soccer) is the most popular sport in Uganda. In the villages, boys and girls play it all the time. Although there has been a UgandanPremier League since 1968, dominated by teams from Kampala (Villa SC, Express FC, Uganda Revenue Authority and Kampala City Council), it is above all the English Premier League, with clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, that excites passions. Few bars don't have a TV to broadcast matches via satellite, especially on Champions League nights.
The national team, The Cranes, which plays at Kampala's Nelson Mandela Stadium, doesn't often shine in terms of results, and has never qualified for the World Cup finals. However, they did manage to reach the final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 1978, to everyone's surprise, and in the last 16 at the 2019 edition. The country's two greatest achievements! The great players who have marked the history of the Cranes are Paul Edwin Hasule and Majid Musisi Mukiibi (the first Ugandan player to play in Europe, with Rennes, in 1992), while the younger generation includes Ibrahim Sekagya, Hassan Mubiru, David Obua and Tony Mawejje.
Boxing and athletics also very popular
Boxing is very popular in the country (Amin Dada himself was middleweight champion from 1951 to 1961). The Kampala Boxing Club, founded in the 1950s, trains around a hundred youngsters and has led to the emergence of a number of major figures on the international scene, including Ayub Kalule (WBA super-welterweight world champion in 1979), John Mugabi (silver medallist at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and WBC super-welterweight world champion in 1989), Cornelius Boza Edwards (lightweight world champion in 1981), and more recently Kassim Ouma, Peter Okhello and Sharif Bogere.
Ugandan athletics has also produced outstanding athletes such as Boniface Kiprop (long-distance running), Davis Kamoga (400 m), Docus Inzikuru (world steeplechase champion in 2005), Alex Malinga (marathon) and above all John Akii-Bua, a true icon of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games (world record in the 400 m hurdles). More recently, Stephen Kiprotich, marathon gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, and Joshua Cheptegei (10,000 m gold medallist, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics) have distinguished themselves.
Long live adventure sports!
While a few tourists play golf, at the Uganda Golf Club in Kampala or the Entebbe Golf Club, most come to Uganda to tackle its natural riches. Experienced trekkers can mount extraordinary expeditions, ideally in the dry season, in the Rwenzori mountains. The classic circuit lasts 6 days and culminates on the glaciers of Mount Stanley, at an altitude of over 5,000 metres. The Virunga peaks in the Mgahinga Park and Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano on the Kenyan border, are other great challenges. Alternatively, why not consider crossing the country by bike or mountain bike? Last but not least, with its plethora of lakes and rivers (Nile, Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga...), Uganda has plenty to tempt water sports enthusiasts: fishing, canoeing, kayaking, rafting..
