Micho resignation was forced and unnecessary

What you need to know:

  • Poor Attitude. How ironic it is on the part of Fufa, that hardly six months down the road from Afcon, they have not done enough to engage with the problem that has been the proper remuneration of a man who got us to Gabon.

L et us get straight to the basics. In April 2013, Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic was given the Cranes job and instructed to take us to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon)!
After two near-misses, he finally delivered. For me then, regardless of whatever baggage he came along with, he delivered on his promise and must be compensated accordingly. But it cannot be said that Fufa is honouring its part of the bargain by letting him go.
Yes, he wasn’t meant to have a job for life and it is true that qualification for Afcon raises your stock and can make a man arrogant and unmanageable.
But how ironic it is on the part of Fufa, that hardly six months down the road from Gabon 2017, they have not done nearly enough to engage with the problem that has been the remuneration of a man who got us there.
We, of all nations, know how big an achievement this was. Heck, we had been waiting for four decades. But more so, Fufa knows how hard it is to find a man who can deliver this for $10,000 (about Shs36m) a month. His peers are on at least double that and he has offers to that effect.
That is not to suggest that he attempted to leverage on his new-found status to extort us. But we should have held on to him at all costs or at least until we had a ready alternative.
Instead we have announced that a team is in place in acting capacity, which further demonstrates our folly.
I know the team is capable and deserving and for us to be so unsure about appointing them in full capacity is us just saying we really aren’t sure about what we are doing, but we must do something. It just reeks of unpreparedness.
Micho’s resignation therefore has all the appearance of a forced but needless action. For one, it has been a long time coming and for the issues to have remained unresolved is not only indicative of Fufa’s lack of commitment to their employee, but also carries an undisguised whiff of arrogance!
So, if we all agree that it was Micho’s basic right to get a return for his labour, and if we all admit that he delivered on his terms of reference, but still went uncompensated for long, then we must hold Fufa accountable for the mess in which we find ourselves smack in the middle of two campaigns.
There will be stories about lack of funds, requests for assistance from government, or even Micho’s almost insubordinate desire to let this play out on social media. But that would all be detail. Bottom line is Fufa has failed him and us on this one.

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KCCA continue to vindicate my long-held belief that local football must build predictable and visible structures, if big corporate sponsorship is to be convinced that their marketing money will be accounted for.
Look at how much KCCA’s baby steps have already attracted. May that continue to be an education to us all.


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MBanturaki