The World Cup Organising Team regrettably announce that, in contrary to previous announcements, Team Uganda will not be attending this summer’s World Cup, in Frankfurt, Germany. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the community for their outstanding gesture of support and hope that this announcement assures them that all is being done to support Quidditch Uganda.
For a Ugandan citizen to visit Germany, they are required to provide proof of their own financial sta...bility. This normally takes the form of bank account statements; or statements of whoever sponsors the individual’s life in Uganda. However, these documents are rare among rural Ugandans, and sadly Team Uganda were unable to gather them in time for their visa interviews. After several calls and conversations with the embassy, it was determined that it would be impossible to rearrange the visa interviews, and consequently the team would not be able to enter Germany.
Following this decision, the Organising Team immediately met with John Ssentamu, the chair of Quidditch Uganda, and the IQA, and put together a plan of action for how to make the most of the funds raised for the team. In the immediate aftermath, all individuals who ordered perks will be contacted in order to place their order. There will be no refunds or returns. The perks will either be available to collect from World Cup, or can be posted following the event.
In the long term, the money raised will be split into two pots. The first will be used to invest in Quidditch Uganda, with the intention of creating sustainable revenue streams and creating more teams in both rural and metropolitan Uganda. There is also the target of hosting a Ugandan Quidditch Cup in 2017. The second will be placed into an Emergency Fund for teams registered to World Cup who may drop out for a lack of funding. It is not intended to boost national team’s fundraising, but to be an emergency fund if there is no other option. If the Emergency Fund is not claimed, the money will be invested into Quidditch Uganda as the first pot was.
In terms of tournament structure, Pool 1 will be the only affected group. Since Uganda and Slovenia were on equal footing coming into the tournament, Team Slovenia will move up and replace Uganda as the fourth team in Pool 1. Pool 1 will now be a Group of 4.
The Uganda vs South Korea EXPO game due to take place on the Thursday is going to be rearranged. Another team will take Uganda’s place - this will be announced in full detail shortly.
The World Cup Organising Team would like to apologise for this failure on their behalf; and assure the quidditch community that they did everything they could to assure the success of Team Uganda. Any concerns or questions can be messaged to this page or emailed to [email protected].
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