A lot has been said about the im- mense impact he has had on the game and from a Ugandan perspective, his three-day visit from February 5 to February 7, 1976 stands out as one of a monumental occasion.
At the time, Pele was 36 years and had lost some of his magic but he was still a player for New York Cosmos. It had been announced months earlier that Pele was to visit Uganda as part of his African tour and fittingly, thousands of Ugandans turned up at Entebbe airport to get a rare once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the idol.
Officially, his visit was purposely to encourage development of youth football but sponsors Pepsi-Cola also seized the moment to promote their brands of beverages.
FORMER FUFA BOSS SPEAKS OUT
At Entebbe, Pele was received by then Fufa boss Era Mugisa as well as National Council of Sports (NCS) chairman Ernest Oluo and his general secretary Martin Okoth. Later, Pele paid a courtesy visit to President Idi Amin at State House Nakasero in the company of Mary Senkatuka, the minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, as well as Uganda Army sports officer Mohammad Seruwagi.
The following day, Pele attended a Fufa-organised football competition for school teams from King’s College Budo, Kololo SS, Lubaga Boys and Old Kampala SS as well as a select team from the central region youth sides. The matches took place at Nakivubo stadium.
However, before kickoff, Pele gave pep talks to all the youngsters and later featured in group photos with each of the teams. Pele, who made the first kick before the commencement of play, was great- ly impressed by the skills exhibited by the youngsters and acknowledged every good pass with a clap.
“Uganda is on the right track in football development and you should stick to this kind of arrangement of encouraging players at a young age,” he said afterwards.
IMPRESSED AND DISAPPOINTED
One of the participating youngsters was Fred Musisi Kiyingi, who remembers the day with a tinge of pride.
“It was a historical moment for me being part of the Kololo SS team,” the former Daily Monitor sports journalist told me some time back.
On February 7, Fufa organized to have Pele attend a league match between Coffee and Uganda Prisons. Before the game, speculation was rife that Pele would showcase his extraordinary skills at half-time.
This only served to heighten the interest in the match and by 2pm, Nakivubo was full to capacity. But what was supposed to be an interesting match turned out to be a boring contest as all the 22 players on the pitch tried hard to impress the Brazilian, who seemed to be unimpressed by the level of football displayed.
To this day, it remains a mystery why Fufa opted for teams renowned for dull tactics instead of giants like Express and KCC. A section of fans called for a showdown between Uganda Cranes, which was preparing for the 1976 Africa Cup of Nations, and the Uganda Lions (National second string side) that had just returned from China.
It didn’t help matters at half-time when Pele’s limousine left the stadium and headed for the airport. Angry fans hurled jeers towards the pavilion where Fufa officials sat. Indeed, many fans rushed for the exits as a handful stayed to finish a dull goalless draw.
inarticle} inarticle}
