Table Tennis: UTTA Extends COVID Relief Funds To National Players

The Uganda Table Tennis Association executive decided to extend support to the national players in this second COVID-19 lockdown.

Twenty Players benefited from this initiative from UTTA and instead of giving them physical food, they decided to send them money via their phone numbers or those of their parents.

“We have been able to provide up to 20 National players each with 2Kg of Rice and 4Kg of beans (totalling 21000) we opted to use the government model of sending the funds to the phone numbers or their parents as this is truly a much safer way of doing it while limiting interpersonal interaction that can spread the virus. ” Said Jjagwe Robert, the Association’s chairperson.

Among the twenty Players benefited from the initiative, 12 were girls/ladies and the rest were male and to do that, Jjagwe and his executive based on statistics that showed that in the first lockdown, women suffered more than the male gender.

UTTA asked the sports governing body, National Council of Sports to advance more finances to the Association such that it extend more support to players and their coaches.

“We hereby appeal to the National Council of Sports to kindly consider advancing us more funds to help our players and their coaches in a bigger way.” He added.

However small they gave to their players, UTTA became the first Association to extend support to Athletes in this second lockdown.

In the first lockdown, we saw FUFA, helping the club’s and the players with rice.

The second lockdown is of 42 days and so far 10 are covered.