Football wrangles: Fufa is making Nyago a scapegoat

By virtue of being head teacher of Jinja Senior Secondary School, Dinah Nyago found herself at the helm of football success when she later transformed the rising fortunes of the school football team to a competing club in the top tier league in Uganda. The school’s recent sports success is the envy of many, no doubt, but the
StarTimes Uganda Premier League side Busoga United and the status it has catapulted Nyago into on the local football scene was sure to send some precipitate some trouble.

It all started with her quest to belong and after establishing herself as the chairperson and biggest shareholder of Busoga United. For a woman leading one of the most populated schools in the region, it was expected that she would be someone of strong character and the recent standoff between UPL clubs and the local football federation only served to shed the spotlight on who she really is.
Nyago was almost inconspicuous in the back benches of football administration after the rude welcome in Fufa politics with defeat to Florence Nakiwala in the race to be the third Fufa vice-president. For a while, she dithered here and there about whispers from clubs leaders who wanted to remind Fufa that the federation cannot eat with two hands simultaneously. Nyago maintained that they needed harmony to reap from what the suited men in Mengo were cooking.

But all that stance was discarded in a flash when coronavirus pandemic pushed clubs against the wall, forcing them to sneeze, cough and touch soft body parts.
Key burning issues and show dissatisfaction in the way Fufa had ended the league,sidelined clubs where it mattered most and did not share any of the many cakes in its oven.

In petitioning the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni, who oversees the sports ministry, Nyago and her colleagues were being tactful – drawing her to what they had in store. But Fufa has responded with a political card that hardly benefits the development of clubs and the game, generally.
Nyago openly disowned the officials Fufa entertained as Busoga United representatives. Suddenly, Busoga Kingdom has joined the fray and asked her to drop the kingdom name from the football team.

Whether the name Busoga is exclusively for the kingdom is for another debate. However, after Fufa came out charging like warriors to convince the public that they had scored victory in turn up among chairmen/ representatives of clubs in the quick fix meeting and emphasising Busoga was over represented, Nyago’s fighter spirit appears to be a cause of concern. They want to “trim her wings.”
The problem is that Fufa is too selfish to see beyond the concerns raised that they are willing to sabotage another football investor.
Fufa, as a father, shouldn’t be too pig-headed to take corrections from its children. FairPlay is what the game calls for and it’s only right that the federation look through clubs proposals and restore sanity.

One of the club officials at Wednesday’s meeting was quoted as saying of Fufa president Moses Magogo’s speech: “He lectured as usual but the highlight for me is him admitting his aloofness, lack of communication and engagement. He said he is open to change in statutes if we feel they are not serving the purpose.”
If Magogo could make such admission, why are we having noise all over the sports when he should instead be addressing the issues? Why are they making Nyago a scapegoat when her only crime is raising issues that benefit the clubs and, by extension, the greater good of football in the country?