Only a few days after the sports minister, Charles Bakkabulindi meeting members of the various sports associations in Uganda, upcoming athletes are blaming their poor performance on government neglect.
The athletes insist government only focuses on particulars sports events where there are financial returns instead of games that are fetching the country medals.
Andrew Olopojo, a middle distance runner and captain of the Makerere University team preparing for the East African University games in Dar-es-Salaam early next year, accusses government of only intervening at a very late stage with very poor remuneration.
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Uganda has struggled to earn medals at major events like the Olympics but has on several occasions returned empty-handed included the recently concluded Olympics in Beijing in August this year.
Olopojo who was found coaching his team mates says that there are limited sports facilities in the country that are hard to access.
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Emmanuel Oroma 21, a second year Art and design student in Makerere who won a gold medal in the U-20 Association of national Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) games last year in Kenya but now vends African jewellery at the campus gate next to Makerere College School, says athletics has reached deplorable conditions.
He a lot of stereotypes are attached to the sport.
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Uganda has only managed six medals at the Olympics twice from politician Aggrey Awori in Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964, Leo Rwabwogo at Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972, Charles Lubulwa in Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988 as well as Davis Kamoga at Atlanta games in 1996.
