By Andrew Cohen Amvesi
ARUA
The hope of winning gold and silver medals in the upcoming national open boxing championship is slowly fading away after the management of Arua city boxing club failed to raise shs2.7 million budgeted for the competition.
At least seven boxers from Arua city boxing club have been prepared to take part in the week-long tournament which is slated to start on April 20, 2024 and end on April 27, 2024 at Lugogo indoor stadium in Kampala.
Muhamad Okulega, the Arua city boxing club head coach identified the seven selected boxers as Sauda Oleru, 48kgs, who is going to play under the junior category, Gift Latifa, Light bantamweight, 54kgs, junior category, Isa Mambo, Lightweight, 60kgs in junior category, and Shamim, 67kgs who will participate in the youth category, Arafat Ayike, 60kgs lightweight, Bashir Andama, 60kgs, lightweight and Razak Ali who will play in super heavyweight category.
“I have prepared my boxers very well technically, mentally, physically and health wise. Last year our boys went for the championship but they failed to bring any medal but this time, we are expecting at least a gold and if they miss gold, we are sure of our players bringing silver medal at home,” Okulega said during a press conference at West Nile Golf Course in Arua city on Tuesday April 16, 2024.
But with barely 3 days left, Okulega’s worry has remained that the club has not yet raised all the money budgeted for the boxers to participate in the tournament thus casting doubt over their ambition to win medals for the region.
This was confirmed by Rasheed Osino, the President of Arua city boxing club who said of the shs2.7m budgeted, only about shs400,000 has been raised in cash.
“My technical team came up with a budget of about shs2.7m to take the boxers to Kampala including transport, feeding, accommodation, registration and medical care among other things. But so far, we are trailing in the sense that the contributions that we have received are not actually amounting to what is budgeted. This will not demoralize us because we are left with about 3 days since our expectation was these boys should leave Arua on Friday April 19, 2024,” Osino said.
“So far, what we have at hand, out of shs2.7m is shs460,000 and we have pledges of shs470,000. I want to thank those people who have pledged and those who have supported us. We want to request everybody out there who would want us to participate in this championship to at least extend hands of support towards us such that our boxers can go and perform,” Osino appealed.
Osino said he has 100 percent trust in the boxers because they have been in the competition before and besides, they understand the ring, fighting and everything concerning the ring and above all, they are very disciplined boxers.
Earlier this year, Arua city boxing club received an assortment of boxing equipment from Farouk Malingumu Daku, a Ugandan professional boxer based in the Netherlands.
The boxing kits worth millions of shillings were officially handed over to the boxing club officials during a recent press conference at the West Nile Golf Course grounds.
The items include; nine pieces of boxing gloves, three pieces of boxing pads, eight pieces of mouth guards, five pieces of bandage gear, three pieces of advance boxing gears, seven pieces of head guard and two pieces of skipping ropes.
The donation follows a promise made by Daku to support the home based Arua city boxing club during his visit to Arua in January this year.
The four-time boxing champion who has been investing in boxing clubs in Kampala said the support is aimed at promoting local boxing talent back-home.
The boxing club has also partnered with West Nile Golf Club Bar and Restaurant where the boxers have the privilege to access some free services at the club which was represented at the press conference by Marvin Jeden, the General Manager.
