After over a two-months hiatus, local hockey in Uganda will puck drop this weekend when the National Hockey League resumes at the Lugogo stadium in Kampala. However, games are subject to NCS clearance.
After Covid-19 became a damper to sports activities in June this year due to the lockdown that was put in places to curb a surge in infections and deaths caused by the pandemic then, Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) is set to hit the ground running again and possibly end the year on a high note.
In their new activity calendar, Uganda Hockey has revealed that the National League scheduled to run between 28th August to 30th October is one of the three competitive local competitions they tend to execute before the year ends.
Others competitions on Uganda’s Hockey’s calendar are; Uganda Cup scheduled for 11th September to 6th November and Independence Cup that will be played on October 9th and 10th.
For the national league, the first round will end in the matchday weekend of 4th and 5th September. Instantly, the second round will start on 18th September, running up to 30th October and that will be the end of the season.
For this weekend, men’s title holders Wananchi and their arch rivals Weatherhead both have double headers with the former taking on Historicals on Saturday and Rockets on Sunday whilst the latter will be up against Makerere University on Saturday before clashing with a now rejuvenated City Lions side on Sunday. Historicals also have a double and they will face Originals on Sunday.
The matches will be played without fans as a Covid-19 preventive measure. Other SOPs meant to curb the spread of the pandemic will also be put in place.
In the men’s division, Kampala are atop the 10-team table with 18 points after 7 games. After 6 games, Wananchi, Weatherhead and City Lions all have 15 points but are second, third and fourth respectively due to goal difference.
Rockets are fifth with 12 points off 6 games while Makerere are sixth with 6 points from 4 games, Originals are 7th with 3 points from 6 games. Historicals, Vikings and MUBS all have no point yet.
In the women’s division, title holders Wananchi SC lead the table with 9 points off 3 games. Kampala are second with 6 points from 3 games, DCU are third with 4 points from 3 games, Weatherhead are fourth with 3 points from 3 games while Rhino cap the table with 1 point off 3 games.
Weatherhead midfielder Timothy Ntumba and Wananchi’s Norah Alum are top scorers are in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively with 13 and 3 goals in that order.
However, on an international level, Uganda Hockey will field it’s senior national teams (both men and women) in the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) slated to run between 24th – 30th January 2022 in Accra, Ghana. The association recently released its roadmap to the continental showpiece.
National Hockey League fixtures.
Saturday, 28th August
*Wananchi vs Historicals
*Makerere vs Weatherhead
Sunday, 29th August
*Originals vs Historicals
*Makerere vs Kampala
*Wananchi vs Rockets
*DCU vs Kampala (women)
*City Lions vs Weatherhead
