Netball body overruled coaches on WC squad

Bayo Folayan, the NIC managing director, handing over a medical Insurance letter to Florence Amono, the She Cranes assistant captain, under the watch of team members at GEMS Cambridge International School in Butabika yesterday. NIC offered medical Insurance to all players and accompanying officials for the World Cup-bound She Cranes. PHOTO by Ismail Kezaala

KAMPALA.

Controversy continues to be part of the She Cranes World Cup-bound team following the latest revelations that the Uganda Netball Federation overruled coaches on the list of players submitted for the tournament in Australia.

The disagreement this time stems from the omission of goal attacker Hadijah Nakabuye, who has been an ever-present fixture in the side since 2009 but was dropped alongside Martha Soigi and Susan Atino.

Unlike the last two, Nakabuye had been included on the initial list of 12 players submitted by the coaching panel consisting of five people.

The panel included the sacked Fred Mugerwa, Vincent Kiwanuka, Milly Kamoga, Wilberforce Mutete and Ruth Ryabaare.
“We had a long meeting around June 30 at Namboole, from which we submitted the final list that included Hadijah. It actually dragged on until around 8.00pm because the federation had told us they had to beat the June 31 deadline,” Mugerwa told the Daily Monitor yesterday.

“I was shocked to learn that she was not on the final list and when I asked my fellow coaches they sounded equally surprised,” he added.

Mutete, who also doubles as the federation spokesman, however disagreed with Mugerwa, saying Nakabuye disappeared around the same time her passport was needed to process players’ travel.
“It is true she was among the players on the initial list but she could not be traced for about three or four days. What then did you expect the federation to do?” Mutete asked.

Nakabuye, however, disagrees, stating she submitted her passport when asked to. “I informed the coach (Mugerwa) that I would be away attending to my sick father but I asked Atino to give my passport to the captain Peace Proscovia, which she did on June 28,” she explained.

“What really hurts is that the coaches tell me I was on the list and no reason is given for my exclusion,” she said.
In an interesting turn of events, one of the players in camp told the coaches yesterday to explain the real reason for dropping Nakabuye who seemed most affected among the players excluded.

“It is better to give her another excuse why she was dropped rather than telling the public that her passport was missing yet she clearly passed it on to us,” she said.
Nakabuye who turns out for local giants National Insurance Corporation (NIC) has been an ever present fixture of the She Cranes attack since making her debut in 2009.