Sports 19 March 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Uganda's Shift to Sports Arbitration: Right Move but Systems Need Strengthening
Experts at a recent ADR convention praised Uganda's new National Sports Act for mandating arbitration in sports disputes, moving away from overburdened courts, but highlighted gaps like narrow dispute definitions and lack of administrative support. Panelists called for better capacity building, clearer funding mechanisms, and alignment with international arbitration bodies like CAS. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/sports/other-sport/uganda-right-on-choosing-sports-arbitration-needs-better-systems-5396962
Sports leaders, athletes, and legal experts convened at the Gumzo La ADR Convention on March 12 at Mestil Hotel to explore dispute resolution trends in Uganda’s sports sector. Moderated by Moses Mwase, president of Uganda Aquatics and UOC vice president (technical), the panel featured Donald Rukare (UOC president), Matthias Nalyanya (UTA president), Alex Luganda (Vipers SC legal director), and Diana Kwesiga (NCS senior legal officer).
Panelists agreed that Uganda’s sports scene was once overly reliant on courts due to weak internal mechanisms under the repealed 1964 National Council of Sports Act. The new National Sports Act, particularly Article 55, now requires arbitration for sports disputes, aiming for faster resolutions matching the pace of sports.
Kwesiga emphasized that this aligns with global best practices without fully excluding courts, while encouraging federations to handle disciplinary issues internally. Common past disputes involved election injunctions, sponsorship battles, and league ownership, with football leading in governance improvements through early conflicts.
Rukare noted courts often redirect parties to internal remedies, and the new law mandates ministerial-appointed arbitrators under Article 57. However, Nalyanya criticized the narrow definition of sports disputes, excluding on-field or contractual issues, and called three-arbitrator panels costly.
Concerns also arose over arbitrator qualifications, annual Shs3m fees per federation, and the absence of a secretariat for managing cases. Mwase urged amendments or subsidiary legislation to address this, while Luganda stressed training specialists for sports’ unique ‘sui generis’ disputes.
Discussions touched on federation autonomy versus government intervention, with Rukare advocating a three-tier ecosystem: internal structures, national arbitration, and appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Examples like World Aquatics enforcing merit-based selections underscored global binding rules over national sovereignty.
Kwesiga invited written suggestions to refine the ‘work in progress’ Act, promoting a persuasive rather than intrusive regulatory approach.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)