New Sports, New Dreams: USSSA Opens Doors as Boxing Stays Out in the Cold

By Lawrence Mubiru 
The Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) has expanded its annual sports calendar, ushering in a new era of opportunity for young athletes while leaving one of the country’s most successful disciplines—boxing—on the sidelines.
In a move aimed at diversifying school sports and widening the talent pipeline, USSSA has introduced cricket, golf, kabaddi, khokho and pickleball at demonstration level. Baseball and softball, meanwhile, will be fully competed for the first time in the association’s history. The expansion is expected to benefit hundreds of students whose sporting potential often fades due to the absence of structured national competitions.
USSSA President Justus Mugisha said the reforms are designed to rescue hidden talent across the country.
“Many students are gifted in different sports, but without national-level competition, that talent dies. This expansion is about creating space for those abilities to grow,” Mugisha explained.
However, the optimism surrounding the new disciplines is tempered by the continued exclusion of boxing from the USSSA calendar. Despite Uganda’s strong international reputation in the ring, the sport remains barred from school competitions due to safety concerns raised by the Ministry of Education and Sports and the National Council of Sports.
Mugisha described the situation as painful for a country that has consistently produced medal-winning boxers.
USSSA president Justus Mugisha addressing media at GNS Plaza in Kampala | photo credit Kayiira Jackson
“Boxing is one of the sports Uganda can win medals in at international competitions. By excluding it at school level, we are cutting off the talent pipeline,” he said.
USSSA has since opened talks with the Uganda Boxing Federation in a bid to convince authorities that the sport can be safely conducted in schools. The association argues that with proper protective gear, well-trained officials and strict medical protocols, boxing can meet required safety standards.
“If we can demonstrate that all safety measures are in place, then the ban can be reconsidered,” Mugisha noted.
As cricket bats swing, baseball gloves are worn for the first time and lesser-known sports find their footing in Ugandan schools, boxing remains a glaring omission. For a nation capable of producing international champions, the absence of school-level boxing continues to represent a lost opportunity—one that keeps many young dreams outside the ring.