By Ben Omoding
Football in Uganda and every part of the world is part of everyday life. It lives in trading centres, roadside video halls (bibanda), campus hostels, living rooms, bars, and WhatsApp groups. A Manchester United loss can ruin moods for an entire day. Arsenal fans suddenly become loud when the team is winning and not giving them heart palpitations.
Every weekend, friendships are tested over Premier League banter, predictions, and penalty decisions.As the zeal for the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues to grow, one thing is clear. Ugandans love football, and the appetite for live sport has never been bigger. Families gather around television sets, friends meet at ‘kafundas’ and the entire nation rallies behind teams and players who inspire millions. At the same time, piracy is becoming one of the biggest threats to the future of sports broadcasting.
Across the country, illegal streaming links, hacked decoders, telegram channels, and unauthorized football screenings have become increasingly common. For many people, it feels harmless. Someone sends a link in a group chat before kickoff, some use their mobile phones while others gather around a screen, and the match goes on, but a few stop to think about what that “free” football actually costs.
The rise of illegal streaming platforms and unauthorized broadcast links has created the illusion of free access to premium sport. In reality, it comes with a serious cost, one that is often hidden from the viewer. Every illegal stream chips away at the economic infrastructure that makes sports broadcasting possible. Rights acquisition; production, commentary, studio analysis, transmission infrastructure, customer service, and local sports coverage all require significant investment. When piracy flourishes, that investment becomes harder to sustain. Broadcast rights for major football competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Premier League and UEFA tournaments cost billions of dollars globally. Broadcasters acquire these rights to ensure audiences enjoy reliable coverage, expert analysis, local programming and investments in production quality. Piracy undermines this model by stripping value from the very content that audiences love.
In Uganda, where the creative and media sectors are still growing, this matters even more. The conversation around piracy often focuses only on access and affordability, but there is also a deeper issue around value. We cannot continue demanding world-class entertainment while undermining the industries that make it possible. Delivering that experience across Africa requires continuous investment in technology, talent, infrastructure and distribution networks.
The same Ugandans who celebrate local music, local film, and Ugandan creators should also recognize the importance of protecting content rights.Piracy also comes with personal risks that many users ignore. Illegal streaming platforms are often filled with scams, malware, fake betting advertisements, and suspicious links that expose users to fraud and cybercrime. In trying to save money, many people unknowingly compromise their devices and personal information.The future of sports broadcasting right now depends on how seriously audiences, regulators, broadcasters, and technology platforms respond to this issue. Fighting piracy is about protecting the future of entertainment, sport, and creative investment in Africa. Football deserves investment. Fans deserve quality. Broadcasters deserve protection for the content they legally acquire and distribute.As Uganda joins the rest of the world in counting down to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there is an opportunity to build a healthier viewing culture, one that values access, respects creativity, and supports the long-term future of sports broadcasting.
Because football is an industry, a livelihood, and for millions of people, a passion worth protecting. If fans want football to grow in Africa, protecting the systems that fund it becomes part of supporting the game itself – the teams and players earn from the game!If we truly want football to continue growing across Africa, then protecting the systems that fund, produce, and sustain the game must become part of what it means to be a fan.
The writer is the Head of Operations at Multichoice Uganda, a Canal Plus company.
