By Emmanuel Amooti
World Lacrosse (WL) has officially recognised the Uganda Lacrosse Association (ULA) as a first full member national governing body from the continent of Africa. This was issued in a statement to ULA, from World Lacrosse, on Saturday 21, 2020.
World Lacrosse is the international federation for women’s and men’s lacrosse, as provisionally recognised by the International Olympic Committee, and is a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations.
The ULA first became an associate member of WL (known then as the Federation of International Lacrosse) in 2011, and by unanimous vote of the WL board of directors, is now being elevated to full member status.
As a full member, the ULA will have a voting right, eligible to participate in the annual World Lacrosse General Assembly.
In addition, national teams representing Uganda will be eligible to advance to the championship bracket and win medals in all WL World championship events.
The recommendation to elevate the ULA to full member status was made by the WL development committee, based upon the tremendous progress being made to expand opportunities for participation in Uganda.
Sue Redfern, WL president, says: “Sport has the power to transform lives, and that is exactly what we see happening in Uganda through the important work and progress of the ULA,” She adds: “Young people are being empowered and inspired as they learn the valuable life lessons offered by lacrosse.
“This is a significant milestone in the growth of our game, but there is considerable work that still must be done in order to make certain lacrosse is available to any young person, anywhere in the world.”
ULA President, Ibrahim Makanda Jaffari, this recognition sets the example for other African countries that WL is committed to supporting the growth of organisations both on the fields of play and in their governance and management, we look forward to greater participation in World Lacrosse and hopefully inspiring other African nations to use lacrosse as a tool for solidarity.” Makanda said.
Meanwhile, the ULA joins Puerto Rico Lacrosse and the Hungarian Lacrosse associations as members of WL that have been elevated to full member status in the past year. In total, World Lacrosse has 68 national governing bodies worldwide.
The ULA is the third WL member governing body on the continent of Africa, joining Ghana and Kenya.
