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British High Commission in Uganda launches Commonwealth Games campaign.
By Denise Namale
Uganda will send a 53-member team to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Commonwealth Games Uganda President Dr. Donald Rukare announced today at the official launch hosted by the British High Commission.The Games, running from July 23 to August 2, 2026, will see Team Uganda compete in 10 sports codes including Para Swimming and Para Powerlifting with a squad of 35 female and 18 male athletes. Five are para athletes.“Preparations for Glasgow 2026 are in high gear,” Dr. Rukare said during his address. “We return to Glasgow after 12 years, ready, stronger, more inclusive, and unstoppable.”
British High Commissioner to Uganda H.E. Lisa Chesney, who hosted the soft launch, said Glasgow 2026 will be “the most inclusive Commonwealth Games in history.” She noted that para-sport has been fully integrated since Manchester 2002, but Glasgow “takes that further than ever before: 47 para-sport gold medals, and for the first time, the very first medal of the Games will be awarded in a para-sport event.That happened because the Commonwealth decided that inclusion is not an addition to the programme. It is the programme,” Chesney added.
“Uganda’s athletes, including Husnah Kukundakwe and Denis Mbaziira, are part of making that real, and their stories deserve to be told far more widely.”
A Legacy of 92 Medals.
Dr. Rukare traced Uganda’s Commonwealth Games history back to its 1954 debut in Vancouver, where the nation won its first medal. Since then, Ugandan athletes have amassed 92 medals-21 gold, 27 silver, and 44 bronze — across track cycling, boxing, weightlifting, and more.The most recent outing in Birmingham 2022 delivered 6 medals. Para-athlete Vivian Nakawunde’s silver in Para Powerlifting at those Games was singled out by Rukare as embodying “determination, winning hearts and medals while breaking barriers.”
Inclusion at the Core.
Uganda’s Glasgow delegation reflects a deliberate push for gender equity and para sport. “We are equally committed to the inclusion of para sports ensuring no talent is left behind,” Rukare said. Chesney also highlighted Dr. Rukare’s November 2025 election as President of Commonwealth Sport- the first person from Africa to hold the role. “Uganda leads the movement,” she said. “He leads a body spanning 74 nations and territories.”
Beyond Sport.
Rukare noted that Uganda’s ties with the Commonwealth and United Kingdom extend beyond the track into “private sector investment/trade, academia and language.” Speaking on behalf of Commonwealth Sport, he added: “Glasgow is ready to host all our 74 members in what will be an altogether brilliant games in July. The Games remain the most tangible and celebrated manifestation of Commonwealth connection.”
Looking Ahead.
Team Uganda’s 10 sports for Glasgow 2026 are: Para Swimming, Para Powerlifting, Athletics, Basketball 3×3, Boxing, Judo, Netball, Swimming, Track Cycling, and Weightlifting. Rukare also looked beyond 2026, noting Uganda’s preparations for the 2027 Youth Commonwealth Games in Malta. He thanked the Government of Uganda, National Council of Sports, and partners including Sanlam, Nile, Graphics Design, Blacklyf, Hive Digital, Tooke, and Commonwealth Sport for supporting Team Uganda.The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will run July 23 to August 2, 2026.
