Why Fufa’s technical wing needs to get its act together

After bewailing their fate following a listless display at the 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan), Cranes fans had the chance to hear from Sébastien Desabre this past week. The Frenchman’s proactivity has been said to jar in a country where caution is valued. Not that he is losing sleep over it!

Desabre made it abundantly clear at the media briefing that he will not fold his tent until Cranes players know attacking football chapter and verse. There was also an acknowledgement that to preach this gospel, the 41-year-old will have to bring Ugandan clubs to his corner.

While all this hardly augurs a future of limitless promise, it certainly offers something that charms rather than overwhelms. Building capacity at club level will definitely ensure that Desabre is not left in a lurch.

The media were quick to seize hold of Desabre’s revelation about how he stood in dismay and puzzlement over Ugandans’ inability to play 90-minute football during Chan 2018. But in doing so, they neglected — unwittingly or otherwise — something just as important that the Frenchman addressed.

Fresh from watching Vipers SC use two quick-fire goals to get the better of Onduparaka in a Uganda Premier League fixture, Desabre revealed that two players left an indelible mark on him. The players — both from Onduparaka — were not part of the provisional squad that was entrusted to the Frenchman’s care in days leading up to Chan 2018.

The comments did not reflect well on Fufa’s technical committee. If anything, they showed just how out of depth the committee is. There have always been murmurs of dissent from the football fraternity about how the technical committee barely has its finger on the pulse. This has translated into poor selections that are often but not Kampala-centric. Clearly, theirs is not the route to brilliance. Maintaining such a status quo can only be counterproductive.

A functional support system has to kick in to ensure that Desabre makes much-needed inroads.
Yes, clubs take a central position in the said support system, but the role of the so-called Fufa technical committee cannot be downgraded.

Rather than being laden with political appointees, the powers that be must ensure that the technical committee is populated with the right manpower. Surely this should not be too much to ask for. No?