Insatiable hunger to succeed pushes Ayiekoh to work hard
Ayieko (R) joins his Mubs University side in celebration after they won last year’s UFL at Namboole.
What you need to know:
JACK OF ALL TRADES. The fast-rising football manager is also a certified chef who tried out his luck at basketball in vain. Attributed with good man-management skills, Ayieko says he will stop at nothing in pursuit for more silverware.
Ever imagined spending your entire day thinking about football formulas and formations? Now that is the exciting yet a challenging daily life of multi-faceted coach Charles Ayieko aka Mbuzi.
He juggles managerial roles at Uganda Premier League side Soana, Makerere University Business School (Mubs) in the University Football League and conquering beach soccer with the same side.
Over the years, he has become used to the many sporting hats he wears, no wonder he is regarded as the most organised coach in Uganda.
Sports journalists will agree that a day to any event his team is involved in, Ayieko will have personally sent in team updates and details via e-mail. In his well-planned newsletters, the fast-rising tactician illustrates the formation he will be employing, the injury updates and necessary statistics.
Such eye for detail accounts for why Ayieko has managed to succeed in all the four sporting teams he has managed to partake in.
Beach soccer adventure
The 39-year-old coach says the moment he fell in love with beach soccer, over 10 years ago, he decided to give it a try.
“I have since undergone three beach soccer coaching courses and countless clinics conducted by international tutors. Truth be told, very few coaches can now beat me in this game,” he says with pride.
Ayieko, who is now on the verge of defending the Pespsi National Beach Soccer League crown with Mubs, will take on Stormers in the quarter-finals at Sports Beach Entebbe tomorrow. “Many coaches like George Ssimwogerere and James Magala have tried balancing coaching in the Uganda Premier League (UPL) and beach soccer event while they were still at Kira Young but failed. It takes love, intense preparations and sacrifice to excel at that,” advises Ayieko. His conquest in the sand sport has seen him dominate the Pepsi National University Beach Soccer Championship with Mubs last year.
Ayieko is confident that his established stars; Elvis Kasujja, Maxwell Okello, Ben Ocenm and Ismail Kawawulo will ultimately wrestle back the national crown on May 28 because they boast of experience and talent that is the envy of several other sides in the competition.
The soft-spoken coach says he will not rest on his laurels until he is appointed national beach soccer coach, a position currently held by Harunah Mawa.
Taking Soana to greater heights
With Ayieko directing traffic, hitherto basement side, Soana now look like they can give the ‘big boys’ a run for their money. Currently occupying the fourth slot with three games to the end of their league campaign, Soana have showed nerves against league heavyweights Express, Vipers, KCCA and URA.
“After cementing the top four finish this season, our next target will be vying for the trophy in the coming seasons because we have experienced what it takes to achieve that,” says Ayieko, who won the UPL title with Police in 2005 and Uganda Cup with Victors. Asuman Lubowa, now Fufa Technical Director, was his deputy at Police then.
Mubs eyeing treble
Having successfully defended the University Football League title last season, Ayieko has now guided Mubs out of the preliminary round phase enroute to earning the tag of title favourites along the way.
In 2008, the media-friendly coach guided the Uganda Universities Combined XI team to victory in the All Africa University Games held in Kampala.
A successful try at Futsal
When the inaugural University Futsal League rolled off last year at Lugogo, Mubs, under the ‘know-it-all’ Ayieko, were at hand to pick the overall award.
“I spare time and study the game’s rules and tactics thoroughly well before imparting the skills to my players. Sometimes I win and people think I am lucky. But that is not it.
“With God’s grace, the sky is the limit for me,” says Ayieko.
Other coaches notions
Vipers coach George ‘Best’ Nsimbe acknowledges Ayieko’s coaching versatility but hastily adds it stifles the budding managerial talent.
“One reason I cannot coach either in the Masaza Cup or in the UFL is because I will be closing the door for the upcoming coaches,” Nsimbe told SCORE in an exclusive interview.
This view is shared by his peer Sam Ssimbwa; “On one side it can help someone earn money but at the same time you’re blocking the progress of Caf C license holding coaches.”
Who is Ayieko
The tutor honed his coaching skills while still a student.
Starting out as an athlete in Wanyange Secondary School, Ayieko first played as a defender when he took to the soccer field for the first time at Bugembe Stadium in Jinja. But he quit early after realising that his calling was coaching.
He has already enjoyed fairytale stints at several Uganda clubs including Bunnamwaya, Police, KJT Rwenshama, Maji, Victors and Soana.
Ayieko is also a certified chef who tried out his luck at basketball in vain.
Attributed with good man-management skills, Ayieko says he will stop at nothing to win more silverware.
