Development of netball in Masaka region May take some time as several teams disintegrate due to financial constraints, corruption and lack of professional coaches.
Masaka region is yet to produce a professional team to play in the National Netball league. The region has over 10 netball teams playing at local level but several of them are disintegrating, dealing a big blow to the development of the sport in the region.
Some of teams in Masaka include Royalsb, Kabonera, Kimanya, Mukungwe, Masaka municipal, Mast, Kako, Sazza, and Nyendo netball clubs among others.
Joshua Mwomeezi, a Masaka Games Official says majority of the local clubs have disintegrated due to lack of finance to manage their teams. He says as a result, the remaining teams have no coaches and this has left them without basic principles of the game.
Mwomeezi, who is also a regional netball umpire, says no netball team in the region can make it to national level because the players lack basic skills and principles.
He asks corporate companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi to intervene and sponsor these clubs to redeem them from economic constraints.
Pauline Nassozi, the Royal Netball club captain, says his club lacks a coach to give them modern skills. She claims that they train themselves for local competitions, something that has affected their career growth.
Nassozi, a teacher at KK primary school in Nyendo, says they need funding from Government to ensure that they get professional netball coaches.
Faridah Nassazi, another netball player with Kabonera netball team says she is considering retiring because netball is not taking her anywhere. She claims that her team has lost many players due to frustration after their manager failed to pay them. Nassazi says due to lack of funds and skills to participate at national level, they depend on seasonal tournaments organized by politicians.
Nassazi, however, claims that even when they participate in the tournaments, their managers swindle the money. She declines to name the managers who disappeared with the funds for fear of being isolated.
Some netball players claim that there is a lot of corruption is the netball game and this is affecting the progress of the game. They claim that game masters bribe umpires during regional competitions.
Some netball players who have declined to give their names for fear of being targeted have told URN that in the recent Buganda regional tournament, rich clubs from Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono bribed organizers to eliminate them at the start even as they had started well.
Uganda Radio Network could not, however, verify these claims by these players.
Recently, Freda Kasse Mubanda, the Masaka District Woman MP said she plans to inject up to 10 million shillings in the development of netball in Masaka district.
