UGANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Timothy Kajja, Nanyonjo Janet Pheobe and Jolly Kibalama, Engoru, Mutebi Advocates
free transfers are still common. Although women do sign employment contracts, wages are often very low, and in some cases players are not paid at all. Addi - tionally, very few clubs have safeguarding policies in place, leaving female athletes vulnerable to various forms of abuse. 8.2 Organisations and Initiatives to Promote Women’s Sport Viewership and fan engagement for women’s sports remain low. To address this, some federations are experimenting with scheduling women’s games on the same day and at the same venues as men’s games, while selling joint tickets that provide access to both events. At the Pool Championship, for example, women and men compete simultaneously. Other federations are instead choosing to schedule women’s games at times such as Sunday mornings – periods with no competing events – so they can secure available tel - evision airtime. Sponsors are also allocating specific funding exclu - sively for the development of women’s sports pro - grammes and the professional growth of female ath - letes. 9. Esports 9.1 Development and Growth of Esports Esports in Uganda has experienced tremendous growth, particularly since the late 2000s. The rise of football e‑games such as FIFA, Football Manager, and PES played a major role in boosting local interest in competitive gaming. This growth was further sup - ported by the emergence of gaming parlours across major shopping arcades in the capital city, Kampala. Combat games such as Tekken and Mortal Kom - bat also attracted a strong following among gaming enthusiasts. The increasing popularity of esports and gaming has been enhanced by greater access to mobile phones and the internet. In addition, the past 15 years have seen significant developments in the industry, with many young people
shifting from being purely players to becoming game developers themselves. 9.2 Key Trends and Notable Deals in Esports While the sector continues to face challenges – par - ticularly high infrastructure and equipment costs – it is gradually developing as a viable career path. This growth is being driven in part by tournaments and increased female participation, supported by organi - sations such as ARUDEM and Gaming Girls Uganda. ARUDEM, a game development hub in Uganda, has made notable progress in the esports space through its various game development projects. There has also been a deliberate effort to attract more women to participate in esports. Gaming Girls Uganda is at the forefront of this movement, organ - ising female‑only competitions and representing the country in continental events. These efforts are further strengthened by partnerships with regional organisa - tions like SAGES, which is working to advance gaming and esports across Africa. Later this March, Uganda will host the SAGES Swahili Esport Champions 2026 summit. The summit aims to bring together key stakeholders – federations, institu - tions, investors, and organisers – to align around a unified vision for the development of esports in the region. However, despite this momentum, the industry still lacks a comprehensive formal regulatory framework to govern esports and its operations. Uganda’s new sports law introduces specific requirements for asso - ciation registration, and the esports community cur - rently lacks the capacity needed to meet the criteria for national recognition. Nonetheless, gradual pro - gress is being made.
10. NFTs, AI and the Metaverse 10.1 Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
The sports sector in Uganda is largely unaware of the potential of NFTs. Currently, there is no evidence that any sports body in the country is exploring or assess - ing the use of NFTs. However, some private actors
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