Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) technical vice president Dennis Galabuzi says they are disappointed with the management of Namboole Stadium for stopping Uganda Amateur Athletics Federation (UAAF) from holding a National Championship next weekend.
Galabuzi says the stadium management has instead hired out the venue to another non sporting event instead.
The Athletics body had booked the stadium to have the championship on June 23, but the Stadium instead opted to receive money from a religious organisation to have the Stadium for more days at a higher cost. A Japanese organization under Rvuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science, will now use the Stadium instead of the athletes.
Galabuzi, who will also be the Chief de Mission for the Ugandan contingent to the Olympics in July, says UOC have contacted the Sports Minister Charles Bakkabulindi and he has promised to intervene.
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Dominic Otuchet, the UAAF president, told URN on Tuesday that it was very unfair for the Stadium management to deny them this chance to prepare the athletes going for Olympics and some who are battling to qualify.
But the Stadium board chairman Dan Tamwesigire said the athletics body had simply booked and paid to the cashier, but not specified the dates when they would use the facility. Tamwesigire said that they are still in talks with UAAF with a possibility of sending athletes for the last qualifiers in Benin later this year which, according to the board chairman, will offer them even better chances to qualify because they will run with better runners from around Africa.
He reasoned that those athletes who have already qualified can always use the facility when Rvuho Okawa and his group have completed using it.
