The Federation of East Africa University Sports (FEAUS) has moved to tighten eligibility controls and impose stiffer sanctions against age cheating as preparations gather momentum for the 15th edition of the Federation of East Africa University Sports Games.
The two-day delegates’ meeting, which started at Makerere University on Friday, September 18, has brought together representatives from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, with the primary objective of assessing Makerere’s preparedness to host the regional university sports extravaganza.
The Games were initially scheduled to be hosted by the University of Dodoma in Tanzania before the institution withdrew from hosting duties two months ago, prompting Makerere University to take up the hosting rights.
With more than 30 universities expected to participate, the delegates devoted significant attention to eligibility, timelines, travel arrangements, facilities and the overall organisation of the Games.
Age cheating emerged as one of the most contentious issues, with FEAUS maintaining that participating athletes must be below 25 years of age.
The delegates resolved that universities, players and sports tutors found culpable of fielding over-age athletes could face prosecution, alongside bans from the Games.
The federation’s Vice President in charge of Technical Affairs Bonfas Salano from United States International University Africa said the issue has become a major concern over the years and warned that teams found breaching the eligibility regulations would face immediate consequences.
“These games are supposed to be in Dodoma Tanzania but because of the logistics they were not able to host.
Makerere came in handy. We have put strict timelines into the participation of the games and 30th of October is the deadline for submitting teams.
Age cheating has been a challenge over the years. But today if you look at the meeting it’s like everybody wants to attack on that animal.
One of the things that we put in place from the technical aspect is that if we find you having someone who is not eligible, we shall kick you out of the village, and be disqualified.”
FEAUS leadership also welcomed the delegates’ strong position on age eligibility, expressing hope that the measures agreed upon will prevent the participation of ineligible students.
The FEAUS President Prof. Simon Munayi said the debate itself demonstrated growing awareness among member institutions about the need to protect the integrity of the Games.
“I’m glad that we did have a serious debate on age cheating. It means that people are not only aware but they are very much against it.
So we are hoping that this time round we shall not have any cases of eneligible students coming to our games”.
Strict deadlines set
FEAUS has also established firm timelines ahead of the Games, with participating teams required to complete registration and payment by October 30. No entries will be accepted after the deadline.
The draws will be conducted on November 9, with the fixtures also scheduled to be released on the same day.
Teams will be permitted to access the Games Village from November 13, which has been designated as the official arrival date, while the opening ceremony is scheduled for November 15.
Preliminary-round competition will also begin on November 15, with the Games scheduled to conclude on November 20, when the closing ceremony will be held.
Makerere reports 90 per cent readiness
As delegates assessed Makerere’s preparations, the host institution reported that approximately 90 per cent of its facilities are ready to accommodate the regional event.
Joseph Mugera, a Makerere University sports tutor, said the institution has the infrastructure to host the majority of the disciplines, although some facilities will require additional attention.
“As far as the facilities are concerned I can say about 90% of the facilities in Makerere university are ready.
Only Makerere sports ground which is still under construction but we believe by November it will be ready for the games. We can host here majority of the sports disciplines.
We have most of the facilities here. Maybe swimming we only have one facility for swimming that might also require us to have another pool outside the university.”
Mugera also highlighted Makerere’s accommodation capacity, saying the university’s halls of residence could comfortably accommodate the expected influx of participants.
“For accommodation, Makerere university alone we have got nine halls of residence three of those four are female and six of them are for men so all of them put together they can accommodate close to over six thousand students so we believe that’s big enough number to accommodate all the visitors that are coming.”
The delegates will conclude their two-day programme in Uganda on Saturday, September 19, with an inspection of Makerere’s sporting infrastructure, including the swimming pool, football pitches and indoor arenas.
21 disciplines on the programme
The 2026 FEAUS Games will feature 21 sporting disciplines, including football, basketball, athletics, netball, rugby, chess, swimming, taekwondo, karate, badminton, volleyball, handball, Scrabble, table tennis, lawn tennis, goalball, sitting volleyball, showdown, woodball, darts and hockey.
The Games will also feature competitions for students with disabilities, which will enter their fourth edition this year.
The para-sports component made its debut at the 2018 FEAUS Games in Dodoma, Tanzania, before continuing at Ndejje University in Uganda in 2022 and Maseno University in Kenya in 2024.
With Makerere stepping in to host after Dodoma’s withdrawal, the delegates’ meeting has consequently placed particular emphasis on ensuring that the compressed preparations do not compromise the organisation, eligibility standards or competitive integrity of the regional university sports showcase.
