Here is to hoping that KCCA example can be contagious in Uganda

What you need to know:

Naked truth. First, it is a firmly held, if not inhibiting belief, that football in this country is ill-funded. But KCCA has demonstrated that even with limited resources a club can achieve its goals.

After the last man leaves the qualification - party from last weekend- KCCA will have Shs2b burning a hole in their pockets.
This can potentially rise to Shs4.5b, and to put that into perspective, that is double what the government of Uganda allocates to all football activities every year.
And it gets better. KCCA will play a minimum of 20 continental games over two years bringing its players and the nation’s much needed exposure at this level. Undoubtedly, gate collections will swell, while Fufa is entitled to 5 per cent of the club’s appearance fees. It is good at all levels. Isn’t it?
But the real story is how much KCCA has vindicated the opinions of many, this columnist included.
First, it is a firmly held, if not inhibiting belief, that football in this country is ill-funded. But KCCA has demonstrated that even with limited resources a club can achieve its specific goals.

Enviable conveyor belt
Qualification is the most visible milestone, the tip of the iceberg if you like. But beneath the water line, in the areas less apparent to an edgy public, KCCA have arguably the best tactician in the local game and an enviable underage conveyor belt of talent that has plugged the gaps when their erstwhile best talents move on. And at their helm, is a team of seasoned professionals going about operational execution with minimum fuss.
As a result, over the last five years, they have become not only the most visible club in Uganda but also its most successful on the pitch. They are triple champions, have won a couple of cup competitions and lest we forget, this could easily have been their second straight qualification, for the Caf Champions League.
It is not a one-off, but rather a sum of the parts and confirmation that they’re built for the long haul. I therefore hope that KCCA can be the example that local football has been starved of and let me share something that makes me optimistic.

Ailing Express
I am a silent observer on a WhatsApp forum whose main objective is to revive an ailing Express. There are things I believe could be done better, and to be honest it looks like we are all so obsessed with the symptom of imminent relegation, that we are missing the disease. But still, the vibe is positive.
These are confident people taking charge of a situation, with an easy bluntness that is turning out to be resourceful. I believe this is a result of a growing environment of possibilities demonstrated by the KCCA example.
So, KCCA has spent the last five or so years reminding us it can be done, and we need not have a problem with self-belief. And we may not read from the same page or even have the same resources.
We may even get blinded by envy and frown upon those who get too big for their boots. But success no matter it’s source, can become a habit and I hope it rubs off on us all.