The National Council of Sports (NCS) has warned that national sports Federations that fail to comply with the requirements of the National Sports Act and the National Sports Regulations, 2025, risk losing their certificates of recognition after the expiry of a five-month remedial compliance period on June 7, 2026.
NCS General Secretary Dr Patrick Bernard Ogwel said the compliance window was granted to non-compliant National Sports Organisations (NSOs) following a December 2025 board resolution, with the exercise taking effect on January 7 this year.
According to NCS, the ongoing exercise seeks to ensure transparency, accountability, good governance and lawful administration of sports in Uganda.
As part of the process, NCS conducted nationwide physical verification and compliance support exercises during February and March 2026.
The inspections focused on confirming the operational existence of federations and associations, assessing governance structures, and guiding officials on how to address areas of non-compliance.
The council said teams visited offices of several sports bodies to verify registration details and operational presence, while also offering legal and technical guidance on issues including constitutional alignment, lawful elections, financial accountability, administrative systems and national spread of sports activities.
However, NCS noted that some organisations were excluded from the exercise for various reasons.
The due diligence visit to the Uganda Fencing Association was not conducted after officials reportedly failed to respond to communication and could not be reached at their Mbiko-Buikwe offices.
The Uganda Paralympic Committee was also excluded following guidance from the Attorney General that the law would later be amended to accommodate the committee’s unique institutional structure.
NCS further revealed that six organisations failed to submit applications for registration before the June 20, 2025 deadline and are now facing revocation of their certificates of recognition.
These include the Uganda Ultimate Frisbee Association, Uganda Floorball Association, Uganda Deaf Sports Federation, Association of Uganda University Sports, Uganda Rollball Association and Uganda Body Building and Fitness Association.
The council also disclosed that applications by the Uganda Dragon Boat Federation and Uganda Canoe Kayak Federation had been rejected after investigations allegedly found that forged audited books of accounts were submitted on two occasions.
NCS additionally handled 20 objections filed against eight sports bodies, namely Cricket Uganda, Uganda Darts Association, Uganda Draughts Federation, Uganda Lacrosse Association, VX Uganda, Uganda Rowing Federation, Uganda Table Tennis Association and Uganda Boxing Federation.
The highest number of objections were lodged against the table tennis and boxing federations, with concerns centering on governance, constitutional compliance, legitimacy of office bearers and administrative irregularities.
NCS said the affected organisations were also granted a five-month remedial period, which will expire in July and August 2026.
Despite the guidance and engagement provided, NCS expressed concern over low compliance levels, revealing that only Uganda Rugby, Kabaddi Federation of Uganda and Uganda Athletics had so far submitted documentation aimed at addressing identified gaps.
Ogwel urged all affected organisations to use the remaining period to fully address all compliance issues, align their constitutions with the law, regularise governance structures, improve financial accountability and cooperate with verification exercises.
NCS stressed that no further extension should be expected unless under exceptional circumstances determined by the board.
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