Fufa in dark place even as Magogo is let off the hook

The past weekend It is not immediately obvious why Moses Magogo got off with what many see as a slap on the wrist for reselling Fifa World Cup tickets on the black market.

The premium tickets, 177 of them, are believed to have fetched Magogo much more than the 10,000 swiss francs (about Shs 37m) Fifa is now demanding in fines.

Educated guesses suggest that the said tickets to 2014 Fifa World Cup matches in Brazil could have earned Magogo — then hardly a year old in the Fufa presidency — a hundredfold more than what he was fined. This is certainly the case if a get-in value of $100 is to be considered.

Others claim it could be fourfold. Whatever the case, the consensus view is that Fifa’s fine is small beer. The profoundly negative deferential triggered by the fine and, let’s face it, two largely symbolic — if token — months spent away from football activities are a small price to pay for someone who has been as unapologetic to Ugandans as they come.

Before the ticket touting fiasco came to light, Magogo masked his human failings under a veneer of perfection on the pitch. Thanks to these feats as well as some semblance of organisation in the boardroom, the Ugandan football fraternity never saw the purpose in hitting heights of bitterness.

The few that fought battles in the public eye were dismissed as saboteurs. They seemed out of kilter. Not any more!

Although Magogo has dodged a bullet, the ticket touting fiasco could well turn out to be the loose thread that unravelled his world. A plea bargain, which essentially is an admission of guilt, will only serve to throw Fufa into further turmoil.

When Magogo jumps back into the saddle in December, as many expect him to, good tidings will be in scant supply. With his appeal steadily waning, it will be fascinating to see how corporate entities respond to this dramatic fall in stock. Will they be generous and dish out votes of confidence? Maybe, maybe not.

While Magogo apologists are defiant that Fufa will come through the rough patch unscathed and, with any luck, its reputation intact, not many neutrals share that optimism. Fufa, the neutrals say, is primed to lose its edge having so publicly drowned in a flood of problems.

The problems have sketched a portrait of a morally bankrupt institution. Worth noting is that before the ticket touting scandal gathered a head of steam, Denis Onyango stopped short of saying that players were tricked into signing a code of conduct during this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.

The Cranes skipper and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper accused Fufa of duplicity in a remarkably candid interview with Soccer Laduma. Fufa had originally framed the mutinous players in Egypt as rebels on account that their actions ran counter to a code of conduct that had been consented to.
The code of conduct was supposed to insulate the local football governing body from eventualities such as players downing their tools.

As Fufa deals with a hefty share of scrutiny during the rehabilitation of Magogo, Onyango’s comments will undoubtedly take on added significance. If anything they will bring to the fore an existential malaise and crystallise fears that darker recesses abound at Mengo.

Things are not done by the book, and, perhaps more riskily, a dangerous precedent has been set by loosening the noose around Magogo’s neck.