As much there is a lot to celebrate in the spheres of politics, society and economy, there is little to talk about in football. In fact, we have become accustomed to celebrate Ugandan football greatest feats from the seventies as opposed to current trends.
From the early twenties when Sir Daudi Chwa championed the growth of football in the county, Uganda was always not far away from the best on the continent. A competition was developed where top teams like Nsambya FC, Bitumastic and East Mengo fairly competed for honours.
Even in the late eighties when football was a key government entity to keep the youth busy, the top brass of the army frequented league matches, especially those involving SC Villa. The irony is that much as Ugandans associated with clubs serving their interests, today, most of the football fans support teams based on colonial undertones.
A chronological look at our history shows that even at a time when everything about the game was rudimental, Uganda somehow was among the best on the continent. Many people may not even remember that Uganda qualified for five Afcons between 1962 and 1978.
Back then, only the top 12 teams on the continent would qualify. So, to have Uganda regularly making it to Afcon ranks as one of the most underrated feats in our football history. This is so because today, fans are forced to celebrate qualifying for a 24-team event. We derive legends such as Jimmy Kirunda, Phillip Omondi, Tom Lwanga, Moses Nsereko and Eddie Semwanga, among others, from that golden era.
Even after them, the likes of Magid Musisi, Jackson Mayanja, Sam Ssimbwa and Steven Bogere, among others, did a tremendous job to carry the Ugandan flag through the eighties and nineties.
What’s disheartening is that over the last decade, Ugandan football has stagnated in spite of the best efforts by government to promote it. President Museveni has stood out for his continuous rallying calls to promote the game. Government had pumped in billions to see to it that Uganda succeeds yet results on ground point to a different picture.
We are currently going through one of the worst spells of football simply because the persons running the game are not volunteers as it is supposed to be. They are instead deal brokers who are out to milk whatever they can from the game. For instance, government has over the past 10 years increased the football budget from just Shs 4bn to Shs 17bn a year yet in that period, the standards of the game have deteriorated.
It is really unfortunate that exactly 30 years since Uganda first exported a top-class talent to a European Big-Five leave in the name of Magid Musisi, no single player has managed to follow into his footsteps.
Even in the national team set-up, we are yet to get players comparable to greats like Kirunda, Lwanga or even Paul Hasule. Today, we have a number of mercenary-like players on the national team. In football terms, they are not even worthy to carry the bags of the legends.
Matters are not helped but the absence of a robust football administration structure. Today, a person’s rise is dependent on loyalty and connections to the authority rather than competence, and a result, many top football brains have been forced to abandon the cause of revamping the sport.
Back in the day when I was starting to follow football, we had eminent people like Patrick Kawooya, Jack Ibaale, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, Patrick Kiwanuka, Elvis Adipondo, and many others. Some of them were civil servants but they really did everything in their might to promote the sport but today we have sycophants disguising as administrators running the game.
So, as I reflect on the 60 years of Ugandan football, my heart bleeds for the absence of gallant individuals at the top of sports administration. I know President Museveni is doing his best to promote the sport with a view of getting the youth active and employed but unfortunately, the people in charge of the sport are doing the opposite to enrich themselves.
In all this, the reality is that Ugandan football is yet to get its independence. While many African countries have moved on to elevate their nationals for key tasks such as national team coaches, Uganda is still stuck in the colonial mentality. For your information, all Africa’s five representatives for the 2022 World Cup have indigenous coaches.
For Uganda, it took a white man to take us to the first Afcon in 1962 and 60 years on, the football administrators don’t trust a Ugandan to coach the national team. Even at club level, our biggest successes, especially at SC Villa and Express, were achieved with white coaches. This football colonization has not yet left the Fufa leadership, which is okay with mediocrity.
This is also reflected in The Cranes’ lack identity or brand of football. And as a result, we will always remain on the periphery of African football. Which makes me question; how did we get it wrong in our football?
The author is SC Villa first vice president in charge of mobilization
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