Sports 26 May 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Uganda Boxing Federation Faces Collapse Amid Registration Deadline
The National Council of Sports (NCS) has set a firm deadline of June 7, 2026, for all national sports organizations, including the Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF), to comply with new registration requirements under the National Sports Act 2023. Failure to register could result in the UBF collapsing and being recognized only as a collection of boxing promoters. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/sports/boxing/comply-or-collapse-ogwel-warns-ubf-sports-bodies-5474908
The Uganda Boxing Federation (UBF) is on the brink of collapse if it fails to meet the stringent registration requirements of the National Sports Act 2023 by the June 7 deadline. The National Council of Sports (NCS) has made it clear that non-compliance will lead to the UBF losing its status as a recognized sports body.
The new law, passed in September 2023, aims to consolidate governance, but has sparked significant disputes, particularly within boxing. The UBF, traditionally the amateur body, and the Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC), which has governed professional boxing since 1988, are at odds over which entity should regulate the sport.
While the Sports Act defaults regulatory power to the UBF due to its existing registration under the old NCS Act, the UPBC, licensed by the Ministry of Trade, is resistant to being subsumed. The UPBC views itself as custodians of professional boxing and argues against being licensed by a body they had no hand in forming.
NCS general secretary Bernard Patrick Ogwel stated that if the UBF misses the deadline, it will cease to be a recognized sports organization and will be treated as merely a promoter of boxing. “We shall look at the nitty-gritty of compliance areas that you will have addressed. And if we see that you have complied, you will be issued a certificate as a fully recognised national sports organisation,” Ogwel explained.
Ogwel also cautioned against “impostors” and stated that those who fail to comply will see their authority expire. The NCS has granted exemptions to a select few bodies, like the Uganda Paralympic Committee, due to unique circumstances and guidance from the Attorney General, but boxing was not among these exceptions. For sports bodies facing formal objections, like boxing, remedial compliance periods extend into July and August, after which applications will be automatically rejected if full compliance is not achieved.