Why Fufa severing ties with Micho is primed to be a case of ‘fool me twice’

Do you remember the 21st night of September, Earth, Wind & Fire, an American band, crooned in its 1978 single. It was not quite the 21st night of September. To be exact, it was the fourth night of September. Faruku Miya's unanswered goal that had squeezed out a narrow victory over Comoros at Namboole was not about to go unremarked. Rightly so.

Until that fourth night of September, things seemed to move at a disturbingly sedate pace. They sure did when it came to making the cut for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals. Before that nervy win over Comoros in 2016, Uganda had last played at the Afcon finals when Earth, Wind & Fire released September—in 1978. 

Indeed, Cranes fans welcomed each Afcon qualifying campaign with a moan of quiet agitation and dread. The odds of success were always slim even before a ball was kicked. Then, behind the no-nonsense practicality of his manner, Milutin 'Micho' Sredojević cracked the code during the 2017 Afcon qualifying campaign. The Serbian tactician was lauded for the wild rigour of his vision. 

On his watch, the Cranes were competitive at the 2017 Afcon finals in Gabon. They lost by the odd goal against powerhouses Egypt and Ghana. They also struck as best as they could during a one-all draw with Mali. Micho's stock grew that bit more, and the only surprise when he finally departed was that his employer had gone several months without giving him a payslip.

After returning for a second stint in the Cranes dugout on July 27, 2021, Micho received a pink slip from Fufa on September 14, 2023. While history does not offer encouraging examples of coaches who returned to their former employer for another bite at the cherry, Micho can only blame himself for struggling to remain relevant.

It will, however, be foolhardy to believe, as many Cranes enthusiasts appear to, that the promise of better days is assured. There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that Micho was just a symptom of an existential malaise. The sooner we admit the hollowness of denial and lay it to rest, the better. 

Since 2019, the Afcon finals have been expanded to 24 teams. Previously, only 16 teams were green-lit to vie for bragging rights. Since its expansion that commenced with the tourney staged in Egypt, Uganda has qualified for only one out of three Afcon finals. What makes this record even more unimpressive is the groups the Cranes have made heavy weather of.

For the 2021 edition, Uganda failed to place in the top two echelons of a qualifying group that had Burkina Faso, Malawi and South Sudan. To shield themselves from a brutal rebuke after Uganda came up short in what by all measures was a simple group, Fufa’s top officials opted to cut Johnathan McKinstry loose. 

Enter the 2023 edition. Micho returned to much fanfare, and it appeared Uganda was in luck after drawing Algeria, Tanzania and Niger. While Algeria were runaway favourites, the smart money installed Uganda as a comfortable runner-up. Yet here we are. Things have well and truly come full circle. Like McKinstry, Micho has been deemed a sufficient sacrificial lamb. Will the outcome be any different this time round? The simple answer is no.

The fact that Micho's failure bears more than a passing resemblance to McKinstry's deserves close study. Previously, when the Cranes used to pull up short in qualifying campaigns, Uganda rarely despaired at failing to place in the top two slots. The permutations would always pivot around the points tally garnered or goals scored. Nowadays, the likes of Malawi and Tanzania are relegating us to third place finishes. 

An age-old dictum goes: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. In handing McKinstry a pink slip, Fufa fooled us once. The shame was not on us. Micho's recent dismissal will, however, leave us with egg on face if we do not ask Fufa's top brass some discomforting questions. In the event that we do not do the needful, the shiny days Earth, Wind & Fire references in its 1978 single will continue to prove elusive.