Let’s ‘Kiprotich’ the Zambians

Whatever frustrations Bobby Williamson and his boys must surely have, they ought to know that flying under the radar is not a necessarily bad thing. Even by our astronomical standards, the squabbles that have rocked Ugandan football have hit altogether new heights.

So, like has been the case with so many other wrangles before major international tournaments, the timing of this latest one must stink where the ordinary Ugandan is concerned. When I first logged in to scribble, my intention too was to dive straight into the melee, but I changed my mind as soon as the password had been accepted.

I of course have my take on the whole saga and dropped more than just a strong hint on television on Sunday, but back to that later because it is not about to go away anyway. First to the Cranes who can’t wait, because by the time of the next column they will have got in the first 90 minutes of the double-header standing in the way of a first appearance at a Nations Cup finals since that year which we have grown tired of referring to, 1978. We had grown similarly weary of having to point to the solitary golden moment of our Olympic history, 1972, for fear of coming across like the proverbial dead clock which told the right time at least once a day.

Now Stephen Kiprotich has changed all that, and we can finally lump two gold medals together and throw in our silver and bronze collections to sound like a proper sporting nation. The Olympic gold drought was even longer than the Africa Cup of Nations wait, and Kiprotich did it against a chaotic backdrop, a scenario which should inspire the Cranes.

When many celebrated being drawn against Zambia, I warned that we were not equals and should instead embrace and exploit the underdog status that clearly suits us more than the over-confidence which had us prematurely declare victory over Kenya last time round. Circumstances have conspired to set the perfect stage, for the Zambians reading about our bickering must be rubbing their hands with glee, the same way those Kenyan marathoners did until the 37km mark in London.

Play with intelligence and calmness, defend with discipline while retaining the confidence to smell and snap up opportunity and good fortune, and the Cranes can ‘Kiprotich’ the Zambians.