The exhilarating journey of the 21st edition of the Individual Ludo Tournament reached its initial stages with the conduct of the first and second rounds at the Lugogo Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
Over a thousand competitors risked the sweet morning slumber, and by 8 a.m., Lugogo Hockey Stadium was packed to the gills with contestants prepared to square off in the opening round.
Draws were conducted with all participants in pairs, ready to face off. In the absence of the Hon. Minister of Education and Sports, Peter Ogwanga, who was outside of the country on official duties, Africa Ludo Federation boss Hussein Kalule diced off the event in front of a sizable throng of players and their supporters.
All around the playing boards, the group of referees who had just earned a grade C certificate successfully officiated the tournament’s opening round.
Lugogo Hockey Stadium witnessed its fair share of excitement as players battled it out to proceed to the third round, which was the climax of day one.
The event was also graced by Nakawa Division Mayor Paul Mugambe, who is Ludo faithful.
“I am so excited to host a tournament of this magnitude in the district of Nakawa. Ludo is a people’s game, and it’s played by the majority of youths in Nakawa. I am going to do everything in my capacity to help and promote this game further in Nakawa, said Mayor Paul Mugambe.
The Nakawa Division Speaker, Hon. Luyombya Godfrey, one of the invited guests, attended the ceremony and commended the Uganda Ludo Federation for organising a tournament of this stature.
The main organiser is Hussein Kalule, the current ULF president and a multi-faceted figure in the global Ludo community.
“The day has been so colourful, and I would love to take this opportunity to thank all the participants and fans who managed to make it to Lugogo. We have witnessed a tournament with a lot of competition, and all in all, we didn’t get any challenges in terms of referees. Tomorrow’s going to be a clash of the titans because the third round has a lot of star quality from the National Ludo Super League,” said Kalule while speaking to the ULF media.
The highly anticipated third round is slated for August 21st, 2023, at Green Card Gardens in Nansana, next to the ULF head offices.
A park of 400 players that consists of 250 from the second round, 50 from the VIP, and 100 from the National Ludo Super League will face off, and the winner will ride away with a brand new motorcycle, while other winners will receive medals and cash prizes from the Uganda Ludo Federation.
The five best players from this tournament will be part of the 10-player team that will represent Uganda at the 2024 International Ludo Individual Championship in Dubai in January.
Surprisingly, one person has won the tournament back-to-back since its inception.
The previous winners since 2016 2016 Amanyiire Innocent(Nakasero Market Ludo Club)
2017 Sserunkuma Godfrey -(William Street Ludo Club)Namubiru Sarah -(Katwe United)2018 Kabaali Godfrey – (Kazinga Nansana Ludo Club) Nagadya Beth – (Katwe United)2019 Kaaso Derrick – (Kisaasi Youth Ludo Club) Namazzi Resty – (Agaliawamu Ludo Club)2022 Wanyama Daniel – (Namugongo Ludo Club) Kulthum Nakamya – (Basajja Bayiiya Ludo Club
