Basketball: Sserunjogi plans home for Fuba 

Last weekend, Nasser Sserujogi and his executive were easily re-elected into office at their elective Annual General Meeting at Hotel Africana.

Sserunjogi defeated his opponent Gordon Gumisiriza 39-16 and will lead Fuba for the next four years. He has been in charge since 2019. His first term of office was blighted by the Covid-19 pandemic which meant that the years 2020 and 2021 were of virtually no activity after the government suspended sport in the country.

Normalcy has now been restored and Sserunjogi is dreaming of executing an ambitious project that would see the federation put in place a home of its own in the true sense of the word.

“In my manifesto, we have promised to start the process of having our own home,” the soft-spoken Sserujongi said.

“We shall be working alongside the vice president Technical and Competitions Joseph Manano. We have developed the plan and drawings for the Fuba Technical Centre.

“This is a huge project and we have a dream that one day we will achieve it; we have identified land along Entebbe road, 20 acres, and have applied for it from the government and the process of the paperwork is ongoing.”

He believes that once the land is secured, the next process will be securing funding for the Technical Centre. It is, by his own admission, a cash-intensive dream but one that FUBA must undertake in line with the growth pattern of the game of basketball in the country.

“In this centre, we want to have an indoor stadium with a minimum sitting capacity of 5,000, four outdoor courts, a swimming pool, gym, Fuba offices, a conference hall and a Hostel for accommodation such that if we have tournaments and training camps, we can easily have them done at that venue.

“But likewise we would be in position to use the same as a money-generating project where people can come in and use it and pay money to FUBA.”

Sserunjogi observed that there had been growth in fans – thanks to the partnership with Next Media Services – attending the basketball league and tournaments and that the federation would go the extra mile to consolidate the numbers gained, particularly after last year’s seven-game NBL final between City Oilers and Nam Blazers.

“We have noticed growth of fans engagement on our social media platforms and I believe that among other things, the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Next Media Services to broadcast the NBL live helped a lot in promoting the game and creating awareness and visibility.

“Many people were following the games on television and eventually decided to leave the comfort of their homes to go and pay to watch the games physically.”

Fuba, added Sserunjogi, had supported no less than 56 coaches through five coaching clinics aided by Fiba.

“Four of these international clinics were physical while the other was online in a development that saw 56 of them certified with Fiba Level One, which is something unprecedented.

“To have certified that huge number in a period of two years is a huge milestone because we want to continue having more of these to ensure that we attain a minimum qualification for one to coach in any division.”