Five women’s and four men’s teams across three regions will take part in the 2024 domestic season in Uganda. Matches will be played in a series of regional tournaments which will commence with the western region teams taking on sides from central on May 1 and 2.
Eastern sides will host western on June 15 and 16, with teams from central facing those from the east on August 28 and 29. The top two men’s and women’s sides at the culmination of the tournament stages will play in the respective Grand Finals.
There is a new side in both competitions, Bulucheke from the Bududu district in the eastern region. Team manager, Muntaki Gerald, commented: “We are excited to be in a competitive structure. We have only been playing the sport a short time and, as underdogs, we hope to learn a lot from being in the championship.”
Baleen are the defending women’s champions and Beluga the men’s. Beluga captain, Isaac Mutyaba, commented: “We don’t want to give up what we worked so hard to gain last year. We expect a lot of entertainment and excitement and being part of a national trial selection at the same time, all players will put in a lot of energy.”
Baleen captain, Lucky Nirere, noted: “We have had a month-long camp in January to prepare and there have been a lot of new recruits. We are looking forward to the kick off and helping to spread the ‘Let the Girl Play’ campaign, we shall surely put on a beautiful show and try to keep the title.”
Fortunate Irankunda, the education leader of Rugby League Uganda, noted: “I am impressed with the way the clubs keep growing the game, aided by the Whales Academy staff who don’t stop moving from region to region to share more knowledge and to ensure the players are getting the right basics. And to our dear partners York Knights and Valkyrie for keeping us moving one step at a time.”