‘We have not been helped’ – African combat icon Golola Moses urges Ugandan government to back sports

The African combat sports icon picked up a second round TKO victory over Ongom Kasumali on a big night of boxing in Kampala on New Years Day. Despite this, it was his message to the government which truly resonated.

Before the fight, Moses expressed his disappointment with the level of funding and support that has gone into sports in Uganda.

He said: “The boxing industry has a lot of young men, we have inspired a lot of them. But we have not been helped.

“The government, the politicians, from the President, have neglected the boxing industry. Yet boxing industry is where we get tough guys."

GOLOLA MOSES of Uganda Sends Kasumaali into Retirement with A TKOin 2nd Round pic.twitter.com/ZotZcOqfyI

— Abel Kitaka (@abelkitaka123) January 2, 2024

The Ugandan fighter added: “We’re asking the President, we know you are a man of your word. But you talked about helping the fighters, helping the champions, but you’ve never even had lunch or anything with them.

“You had dinners with comedians, with musicians, but why are you selective? Leaving the fighters. If you were a real fighter who fought for this country, to bring peace. Fighters – we keep peace. Because we might be dangerous at any time. We keep the peace. But don’t neglect our peace.

“The members of parliament – you have not talked about sports. In Brazil, when parliament sits, it talks about the national team of Brazil. They even think about the captain they’re going to change. They think about sports.

“Sports are for the young generation because sports are about age. There’s a time you start and a time you stop. As we are here, we are at the age of retirement. But we still want to show because we still have our fun and still have the energy.”

‘The young generation is still demanding’

Moses, who has used his popularity to promote health and sports in the country, wants politicians in Uganda to boost investment.

He added: “The government have invested billions, but they have not invested money in sports.

“The gyms have no support. When you reach the gyms, they have no toilets, they have no showers. We are fighting for our nation. We represent our nation.

“So we call upon the political leaders. Yes, you are doing right. So many of you who are fighting to change the nation. But first, look at the system. The young generation is still demanding. Look at sports. Sports is where the youth starts from.

“This is why, when we were growing up, our parents didn’t want us to join sports. Because they knew that any sports person is a failure. But it’s not like that in grown up countries. Here we don’t even have academies.

“We need academies. Academies are a vocation where you start teaching the kids when they’re still young. You start growing the talent.”

‘You should not neglect us’

Moses, who still competes in the ring in his mid-forties, has a number of his own academies throughout the country.

Despite this, the multi-time kickboxing champion believes more can be done by the authorities.

He said: “Poor management of sports in Uganda. You should not neglect us because we are Ugandans who love the talent, and we believe it’s the talent which is lifting up our country.

“We have champions, we have upcoming guys, we have those who competed at the Olympics. Come up and help the commission.

“We are calling up on the government, we are calling upon the political leaders. Look at sports. We also call upon the national council of sports because they have the energy of pushing the ministry.”

Moses added: “Our leaders, they are not sportsmen. They don’t know the pain it takes to be a champion.”

Photo Credit: Golola Moses Facebook