Makumbi: the master of lower division football

Man Manager. Coach Makumbi has earned the praise of his subjects as an inspirational tutor who can get the best out of the least talented players. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

What you need to know:

  • Soccer. Before he guided Mbarara City to their maiden UPL appearance with a 2-1 over Synergy on May 7 at Lugogo, Makumbi had given the same joy to SCOUL, Iganga, Fire Masters, Nalubaale, Vipers, Buikwe Red Stars, Lugazi United, Mukono Lions,Luyama FC-Busia, Health, BUL and Soana.

KAMPALA.

To any football club, relegation is a nightmare.
Leeds United fans almost gave up on dreaming for a return to the English Premier League, yet those of Nottingham Forest find farfetched solace in Arsenal’s failure to win the Champions League, yet Forest won two before plunging to obscurity.

Back home, we have a one Richard Makumbi, a former Cranes international, whose record of promoting clubs to the topflight league can merit a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Last Sunday at the Phillip Omondi Stadium, he added Mbarara City FC to a long list of clubs that have sought his services in a bid to reach the promised land.

Mbarara defeated Masaka’s Synergy 2-1 to become the 11th team the former Coffee utility player has led to the country’s topflight.

Such has been the success of the Lugazi-born coach that he has succeeded in aiding the promotion of teams in both the old format that had teams elevated through a Mini-League and the introduction of the Big League in 2010. “I always instill determination and teamwork in my teams then leave the rest to God,” Makumbi says of his superb record.
Good motivator or sorcerer?

In a country where belief in witchcraft is very much a part of people’s everyday lives, Makumbi’s coaching career has been littered with tales of sorcery, a view that he strongly refutes. During his stay at the defunct Fire Masters that he led to promotion in the 2008/2009 season, stories abound of him smearing players with a white substance before games.

“I don’t practice witchcraft like people say because I trust God to guide me through everything,” counters Makumbi, who also professes to be born-again. “Coaching is a calling. If God decides that you are suited for the role there is no way you can do otherwise,” he emphasises.

With invaluable experience in the lower leagues, Makumbi has also helped shape a number of players’ careers with Hakim Magumba, Andy Mwesigwa and Simeon Masaba emerging as the stars on the rota.

Following his retirement in 1992, hometown club Scoul were the first beneficiaries of his magic wand before he moved to Iganga.

In 1996, he moved to Kakira Sugar Works that had at the time bought Coffee, one of his former sides before moving to Busia Fisheries. His journey has not been without its setbacks with Makumbi often accused of failing to sustain clubs in the top division including suffering relegation with Entebbe in 2015.

After guiding Buikwe Red Stars to promotion, Makumbi went on a two-year sabbatical before being lured back to the dugout by Lawrence Mulindwa whose Bunamwaya (Vipers) team sealed promotion in 2005.

There was further success at Mukono Lions and Fire Masters while he is also credited with Bul’s rise to the top. His finest moment however seems to have come with Soana in the 2013/2014 season when he guided the then league debutants to fifth.

While at the time, he had striker Francis Olaki, who emerged league top scorer with 15 goals, Makumbi this time relied on Brian Ahebwa and Makueth Wol for goals with the pair scoring 14 and 12 goals respectively to earn promotion.

The lanky Makueth also scored twice in the playoff final victory against Synergy while Aheebwa got the all-important equaliser against Ndejje in the semifinal to force penalties.

He has set a target of taking Mbarara City into the top half on the first time of asking like he guided Soana to fifth, four years ago but that - he says - will require him buy five more ‘experienced’ players in the transfer market.

But with a nomadism trait following the ex-Nile, Coffee, Uganda Breweries utility player it remains to be seen how long both him and the team will last in the big time.

BRIEF FACTFILE
• 55 years old
• Played for Cranes from 1980 - 84
• Club playing career included spells at Coffee, Police, Nile, Uganda Breweries and Express
• Has 14 children including Umar Nyanzi and Remmy Makumbi who also play football.