KAMPALA (Uganda)- Nasser Sserunjogi has been elected as the new president of the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations (FUBA) on a four-year term from 2019-22.
Sserunjogi, a 39-year old advocate, won 37 votes beating his rival and outgoing vice president Marketing Grace Kwizera who amassed 24 at the Annual General Meeting held on February 24 in the Ugandan capital. He succeeds Ambrose Tashobya who has been in charge for the last 12 years.
“I AM HONORED THAT I HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH QUITE A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY BUT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE WHOLE TEAM.”- Sserunjogi
He revealed that, “My theme for this campaign was grassroots development which is the foundation of the growth of every sport in Uganda.”
“We have the NBA Junior League which caters for 12-14 year olds but there is a big gap and we want to bridge it by introducing the primary schools league so that the players that go to the NBA Junior League have the basics and then they can move on to the secondary schools league,” he explained.
Sserunjogi has been in basketball management for the past 17 years majorly with topflight side KIU Titans before joining FUBA as vice president Administration – a position that is equated to secretary general.
“I am honoured that I have been entrusted with quite a huge responsibility but I am looking forward to working with the whole team,” he told FIBA.basketball
He takes over Tashobya who has driven the game of basketball to great heights since 2007 achieving continental prowess in 3×3 basketball where Uganda has made significant progress winning bronze at the FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup 2018 in the women’s category.
Uganda has competed at two editions of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2014 in Russia and 2018 in Philippines as well as the FIBA U-23 3×3 World Cup 2018 in Xian, China.
The Silverbacks qualification to two straight FIBA AfroBasket tournaments in 2015 and 2017 as well as competing in the just concluded FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 African Qualifiers is a foundation that Tashobya’s reign has left for Sserunjogi to build on.
Uganda also made their debut at the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in 2015 in Cameroon.
“I would like to thank the leadership skills of maintaining one federation. Ambrose[Tashobya] is a very listening man. He shares a lot with people and with those skills, we shall be able to move forward,” Sserunjogi said about his predecessor.
Tashobya was nominated as honorary president by the FUBA AGM – a position that the outgoing president considered as an absolute honour and privilege.
“I have pledged myself that I will always be available to guide and grow the game of basketball,” Tashobya said.
“From one national league in 2007, the FUBA leagues have grown to three national leagues with 62 teams countrywide. A few years ago, FIBA introduced 3×3 basketball and marked it as one of its core pillars. I am glad to report that not only did we embrace this change but we also have excelled at it as a country and are currently ranked number one in Africa.”
“We successfully hosted a number of tournaments that not only helped us sell the brand but also presented opportunities for us to qualify. Moving forward, FUBA still has a great task to accomplish a strategic plan, developing relevant policies, development of basketball infrastructure, building more partnerships and raising money for the game,” Tashobya explained.
Uganda is currently ranked 16th on the African continent – a significant improvement from years past.
FIBA