Fellow fans, what really went wrong with KCCA ambitions?

The current standoff between Vipers SC and Fufa has divided clubs, fans and football pundits.

Recently, Vipers SC vowed not to feature in the new league format until Fufa came clean on matters the Kitende-based side raised, while Fufa on the other hand is not budging and is determined to play in the new league format, come rain or sunshine.

It is interesting that whereas sev-eral clubs expressed reservations and punched holes into the complex new format, they all crumbled under Fufa pressure and it is only Vipers which came out openly to stand up and be counted.

The likes of SC Villa, NEC FC and KCCA, which had earlier joined Vipers to boycott the new league format, backed off. Personally, I admire Vipers’ resistance against Fufa’s arrogance and oppression but I cannot say the same for timid KCCA FC, the only club I have supported for more than four decades.

I will spare the nitty-gritty of this football league circus for another time; let me focus on KCCA, which might go down if the situation does not change in its administration. My biggest concern is that the abnor- mal has become so normal.

I recently watched a painful video clip where Erias Lukwago, the Kampala lord mayor who also doubles as club patron, along with club chairman Andrew Mukiibi Serunjogi, lamented how they were coerced to feature in Fufa’s new league format.

HOW DID KCCA REACH THIS LOW?

For years, the Lugogo-based side has been known to set the agenda in the local football; it leads, and others follow. But the KCCA of today operates like a headless chicken, being everywhere but nowhere.

The club’s easy capitulation to Fufa demands is just the latest symptom to a deeper underlying problem. Gone are the days when KCCA was renowned for winning major titles and producing many of the best football administrators in the country.

From 1976 to 1985, KCCA won a major title every season (five league titles in 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983 and 1985), plus Uganda Cup titles (1979, 1980, 1982 and 1984) and a Cecafa title (1978).

The club underwent a second golden era by winning five league titles (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019), two Uganda Cups (2017 and 2018) and one Cecafa Cup title (2019). Since then, however, the club has turned into a shadow of its former self, failing to win any silverware.

The frustration is that this is not be- cause of any financial or talent struggles, but because the club leadership is devoid of competent football administrators.

HOW CAN KCCA REKINDLE OLD GLORY?

Gone are the days when the club had eminent leaders such as Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, who served the club in different capacities, from coach to team manager to club treasurer. This also reminds me of Jack Ibaale, the no-nonsense chairman who served for 12 good years (1975-1987).

Then there are the likes of Dr Timothy Mutesasira, Moses Nsereko, John Mutenda, Steven Mukasa, Gordon Wavamunno, Christopher Rwanika, Joseph Kabuubi, Joseph Sebuggwawo, Gideon Karyoko, Jimmy Kiwanuka, Abraham Byandala, Suzan Okello and Gershom Sembogga, among others.

This crop of administrators went out of their way to make KCCA a force in Ugandan football. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same of the current crop of leaders because they lack the spine to stick to the club ethos.

A case in point is when KCCA was coerced to accept a league replay in 2021 against Arua-based Onduparaka, yet the latter had hosted the original fixture and abandoned it. It was obvious under Fufa league rules that the home team was to forfeit the game. But what happened?

Fufa’s disciplinary panel ordered a replay at a neutral ground and KCCA shamefully honoured the replay at Bombo. Then in February, 2025, KCCA fielded Gavin Kizito Mugweri in a league match against Mbarara City after being cleared by the Uganda Premier League (UPL) secretariat.

But it was later discovered that Kizito was ineligible to feature in that game due to accumulated cautions. As a result, KCCA forfeited the match to Mbarara City. I was happy when enraged KCCA officials took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but that was short-lived when Fufa reportedly sweet-talked the club bosses to withdraw the case in May 2025.

So, accepting to play in the new league format is just the latest in a series of situ- ations where Fufa has bulldozed KCCA, and this has become so normal. The KCCA FC administration has not only weakened in boardroom matters, it has also failed to put up any performance on the field.

Six years without winning any major title and with the club influence waning by the day, it is perhaps time for heads to roll at City hall and Lugogo. It is a bitter but important pill to swallow lest I start on an obituary for my beloved club.