Fufa to retire Cranes strip, Magogo to stand in 2017

Kampala.

Uganda Cranes’ red jersey with a yellow strip to the left breast was received with mixed reactions upon its unveiling just over two years ago.

Fufa was moving away from yellow that a generation had grown accustomed to that many had no clue that Cranes have previously been wearing red, white and anything.

“We have resolved to retire the jersey after the tournament in Gabon,” Fufa president Moses Magogo told a media briefing at the federation’s offices, his first officially since Cranes qualified, yesterday.

That strip ‘got’ Uganda to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 38 years, a span that included 19 failed qualification campaigns. “That jersey will be a treasure in our offices,” he added.

“At the moment, we are talking to four kit manufacturers who want to dress team. We are still trying to pick the best option,” Magogo said.

Daily Monitor has also learnt that German kit manufacturer, Adidas, made an approach to Fufa, on the day when Cranes beat Comoros 1-0 to qualify for the Nations Cup on September 4.

“This time, Ugandans will take part in designing the jersey. Very soon, we shall launch a competition with a jersey being picked for printing by our chosen kit sponsors,” he said.

At the same briefing where Magogo belaboured so many things for an hour, his parting shot was the confirmation that he will contest to retain his office next September.

“Those who have been asking: will I stand again? Yes, I will stand,” he said in the affirmative. The Fufa general assembly will sit in Luweero. No one else has indicated he will challenge Magogo yet.

An impassioned Magogo, who has been the Fufa boss since 2013, meandered into demanding government funding, unveiling a five-year strategic plan and calling Namboole “a disaster waiting happen.”

He found time to brag that “you cannot change the fact that I was Fufa president when Cranes qualified for the Afcon or that Micho (Sredojevic) was the coach.”

“Every one of us as a federation, as fans, as players have done a lot,” Micho said. “It’s a lot of sacrifice with meagre resources that we use effectively.”

He gave details of the team travelling by road for over 300km from Zimbabwe to Botswana on match day five of the 2017 qualifiers.

Goalkeeping coach (Fred Kajoba) collapsing at the airport when the team made it’s way through 10 hours of flying to and from Burkina Faso within four days was touching for many at the briefing.

The ‘negative media’ was not spared as Magogo went on the attack while he revealed that ‘Fufa spends over 70% of its budget on Cranes yet that share would go towards development.’