New URU CEO Isaac Lutwama wants rugby to be Number One sport

Newly appointed Uganda Rugby Union CEO Isaac Lutwama will focus his agenda on making rugby the biggest sport in the country by the time he leaves office.

Lutwama’s appointment was made public by URU on December 30, 2022 and he replaces Ramsey Olinga on a two-year contract.

“I would want to leave Rugby as the No.1 sport in terms of delivering a great experience for both players and fans in Uganda,” Lutwama told Daily Monitor in an exclusive interview.

“I would want to see us ranked in the Top 30 in World Rugby and qualifying consistently for both Men’s and Women’s World Cups for Sevens & 15s,” he added.

When new State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang was appointed last year, he made visits to various federations, URU inclusive. Then, the URU office made rounds on social media with boxes of water visible in the background and could pass for a store. Finding a home for Ugandan rugby is the other ambition of Lutwama’s.

“I would also want to see URU with a new home that symbolizes the status and ambition of Uganda Rugby.”

Bouncing back

In December 2021, Lutwama lost the contest to become Kobs chairman to Dr. Tonny Luggya. If that was supposed to put him down in his sports administration journey, it failed.

“We welcome Isaac to the URU administration,” URU president Godwin Kayangwe said.

“He brings a wealth of experience in administration and marketing. In the bid to professionalize rugby, we have to consider the right personnel to guide the players as well maintaining high levels of stakeholder engagements continuously and certainly in order to achieve our vision,” he added.

Lutwama gets into office with experience. He is a former player and served as Vice Chairman of Kobs.

He also joins after serving in different multinational corporate companies such Unilever and Copia Uganda. He is an experienced Brand and Marketing professional, with over 10 years’ experience working in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods sector in Uganda and Kenya.

Lutwama is a trained Economist with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Makerere University.

First task

As he takes office, Lutwama’s plan is based around six major points that will come in play at different stages as both short and long term.

“I want to use my first 100 days for Learning, Assimilating & Planning based on URU ways of working.”

Professionalizing the Management Team, leveraging URU Brand – Growing Revenues, Players’ Welfare and Union, Leveraging Relationships with Government of Uganda, Sports Governance Bodies and Corporate Partners, a new home for Uganda Rugby and continuing to grow the game in Uganda are the six areas of focus for the former Kobs player.

Name: Isaac Lutwama Nsubuga

Role: URU CEO

Profession: Economist

Previous role: Kobs Vice Chairman