Embattled Misagga returns to haunt Fufa

“In a meeting between yourself and our client that was held at Ivy’s Hotel Lubaga, it was mutually agreed that our client would scout for and secure a sponsor for Fufa and the Uganda Premier League.
In the said meeting, you also committed to pay to our client a commission fee of no less than 10 per cent of the total amounts payable by the sponsor as consideration for his efforts in securing a sponsor.” With those few words Ben Misagga’s lawyers, formalised the battle lines between their client and Fufa on the matter of brokering the StarTimes $7.24m sponsorship deal.
For Misagga, what is wrong must be put right. For Fufa, the euphoria of the 10-year deal is about to degenerate into accusations and counter accusations, during which matters they would rather have kept concealed will come to light. Such are the consequences of litigation.
The question though remains, are we witnessing an attempt to get compensation for services rendered or has Misagga discovered a loophole he can exploit for personal gain? And how will Mengo react? Will they acknowledge poor governance and agree to be part of the solution or dismiss the claims as the machination of a person driven by selfish interests?
Either way, Fufa should have known that this is what comes out of unclear mandates. Right now, the claim against them is one of insincerity and as far as we know they don’t have the recourse of complete transparency on the matter. Unbothered, Misagga, appears to hold his role in the kind of regard worthy of a hefty compensation, at least going by his very frenetic social media activity.

Untainted intergrity
It will be interesting how this pans out but I struggle to see how either party can emerge from this with untainted integrity.
More alarming though is that there is little evidence to suggest that this conflict will be any different from those before it, most of which have led us down the well-trodden path that leads to a place where Ugandan football is held hostage to ego. The two parties are likely to tear at each other in a fight of dominance that will leave behind a trail of unresolved conflicts which in turn fuel future bickering.
But even when this fight subsides, we shall somehow find a way to return to where we started. We always do. It’s worrying that these incessant winner-take-all skirmishes in which football is the ultimate loser are killing off any sense of moderation we have left in us. Already football administration is quickly becoming no place for men of honour, and the ensuing vacuum shall increasingly attract the hard-core type unafraid to soil their reputations.
But does anyone care? Those in power want to dominate, while those fighting to get there are yet to convince anyone that they are any different. As it is there is nothing left to appeal to but our morality. And that my friends, is going to be one heck of a tall order.

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MBanturaki