What next after Gabon

What does a nation that has spent 40 years trying to get to a tournament turn to after the party is over? How do players manage the realities of their mundane daily existence back home after the glamour of luxury coaches, hotel meals, and television cameras?

And how do managers and administrators make the mental shift from the camaraderie of shared meals and tactical sessions to the grind of home life?

The withdrawal must be overwhelming, but it would also be extremely naïve for anyone to expect life to be one permanent high. We must therefore as a nation move on from Gabon and find purpose in some enduring goals – like becoming perennial challengers for top continental honours. But for us to move on, this is what we must address.

First, the bare facts: We were the first team to be knocked out, managing only one goal and one point along the way.

And to be honest there is nothing faltering about those statistics or even the ones I have not mentioned like possession percentages or shots at goal.

So, a damage report would be a nice place to start the introspection. The scope of the circumstances that caused us to under-perform should then determine our next course of action and the hard questions are going to be; Why did Caf’s Team of 2016 only return a solitary goal and point from three games in which we were not played off the field?

Some of the answers to these questions can be hard so we need to control what would be convenient emotional responses.

If we stay neutral to stories such as the Kizito Luwagga fall-out, or the purported hotel orgies and unreasonable money demands, then I believe we shall come up with necessary and effective logical solutions. Negative self-talk never got anyone anywhere.

Being steady will allow us to ditch short term thinking and focus on our long-term goals.
Already lined up are World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations 2019 Qualifiers in June and September respectively.

The follow-up questions then become; Can we qualify for Russia 2018 or Cameron 2019 without Luwagga who has allegedly excused himself or the old foxes Geoffrey Massa, Tony Mawejje, Denis Onyango and others, who are at the tail-end of their careers?
Answering this enables us to prioritise what we should do to move forward.

After we have a clear grasp of the situation, we must start to clearly communicate the challenges to all stake holders. The corporate sponsors, government, media, administrators, players, and the fans, should all be part of finding a solution that will move us forward. The more up front we are with all, the easier it is to take and manage the situation.

Let no interested party find out when it’s too late to do anything about it.

And from that, will come the collaborated solution that will enable us to overcome our hangover. We need to stay calm, stay focused on the big picture and keep everyone in the loop. Nothing can overwhelm us, after that.

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MBanturaki