Madondo flirted with Africa’s elite, now back to Big League

In one of his famous motivational lines, the author of “Power of Positive thinking,” Vincent Pearle goaded: Aim for the moon and if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. 
This line must have reverberated in Joel Madondo’s mind when he emerged top scorer of the 2017 Copa Coca Cola as his school Jinja SSS became the first upcountry school to upset the traditional order of their Kampala and Buganda counterparts.

Madondo dreamt of a move to Europe. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Farouk Miya who he had watched daily in his early secondary education at St Mary’s Kitende. 
A year before, in 2016, the striker was pivotal for his club Kirinya-Jinja SSS (now Busoga United) as he scored seven (including one in the final) goals and assisted several others as they won the 2015-16 Fufa Big League to gain promotion to the Uganda Premier League. 
Madondo’s statistics in his first two league seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18 were not impressive. He scored less than four goals altogether. 

However, he was excused since he was juggling books and football. With his prowess in front of goal and books off his back, Madondo’s transition was flawless. He bounced back in the 2018-19 season in style, scoring 13 goals.
A Cecafa medal with Uganda Cranes in 2019 followed and he added four goals and the three assists for Busoga United in the first half of last season. Foreign clubs duly took note.
Madondo’s early ambition to aim for Europe was not answered but his efforts landed him among the stars of African football. He was called for a trial in Morocco in December 2019. 
He impressed and earned himself a lucrative three-and-half year deal with then African champions Wydad Casablanca estimated to be worth $100,000 (Shs350m), shared equally between Busoga United and the player and his agent Tushar Ruparelia. 
He completed the move on January 15, 2020, followed by a colourful unveiling inside a hall littered with camera flashes. 

Paradise turns hell
The 23-year-old was handed his debut by former Uganda Cranes coach Sebastien Desabre on February 15, 2020, in the second half of their league game against Difaa El Jadida. 
It wasn’t a debut he wanted as the team fell 1-0 despite his two powerful attempts when he came on late. He went on to play only 71 minutes for Wydad in competitive matches. 
Madondo’s woes started in March when he, his agent and Busoga United started inquiring about the transfer and sign-on fees. 

The situation escalated in June when he couldn’t stomach it anymore cried out for help through the media; the youngster had been abandoned in his hotel room with no money and was only feeding on chapatti and tea.
The situation was made worse as the world shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. He could not return to home. His club had held his passport, according to his statements.
“The club dumped me in the apartment for which I have to pay $1,000 per month yet they have not paid me [any] salary. This is not what I expected when I signed for this club,” Madondo told Daily Monitor in June.

Fees disappear
That was not his only worry. The club president Said Nacri shocked the Madondo and his agent when he revealed that they had duly paid his sign-on fee.
“He [Nacri] was surprised when we raised the issue of the sign-on fee during the video conference. He told us (Madondo and Ruparelia) that the money and copy of contract had been handed to a third-party agent,” Madondo said. 
His former club, Busoga United was also up in arms demanding their share. The saga ended with Madondo parting ways with the club.

Links to Vipers, joining Gaddafi
Madondo returned to the country in August and started training with local sides in Jinja as he received several offers. Among them included a plea to return to Busoga United for free to keep fit. Vipers and Wakiso Giants were the other teams reported to have been on his trail.
However, this week, this newspaper revealed that the player was closing in on a deal to join free-spending Fufa Big League side Gaddafi in Jinja. 

He was spotted playing for the team in a barren build-up match against Vipers at Bugembe stadium on Wednesday.
“He is just training with them to keep fit. He hasn’t yet made up his mind; we want to see if a chance to go out [of the country] will come,” Ruparelia told SCORE.

“We’ll know that in a week’s time but we have received offers from several clubs like Wakiso Giants and Kyetume. He can’t travel daily to Kyetume when their coach [Livingstone Mbabazi] is not around. But if he signs [at Gaddafi], it will be short-term, like six months.” 
Gaddafi officials refused to speak on record but their actions – including playing him in the friendly with Vipers – prove Madondo is close to joining them.

“The transfer is almost done and will be unveiled soon as management deems it necessary. There are rumours that the President [Museveni] could open sports fully very soon so, we wanted to unveil him in front of our fans in style, that is one of the reasons the club is still tight-lipped,” an official said after their match with Vipers. 
This paper understands that the topflight clubs wanted the striker for a long contract but Gaddafi is ready to adjust to his demands.

Good or bad move
Many pundits see Madondo’s move from a team with world-class facilities to an ignominious surrounding that is the dusty and uneven pitches of the Big League as a thousand steps back in his career. But he is a different attitude to it.
“First, I have to clarify that I haven’t yet signed. I’m just training with them,” Madondo excused himself from the reports.
“I have not decided because none of the offers have impressed me yet but I am to sign for local club, then it must be for a short-term [six months]. 

Madondo chooses to emulate Isaac Isinde who mentored him into a professional when he returned from Buildcon in Zambia to, by then, a lowly-rated Busoga United and then landed a juicy deal in India and Ethiopia consecutively.
On the impact of this potential move on his career, Madondo explained: “There is no harm playing for a local team [coming from a club like Wydad], I just need to work hard. Many players have done that including, recently, Isaac Isinde, who is a top player and experienced.”
The Fufa Transfer Matching System, seen by SCORE, still shows Madondo is a Busoga United player and not a free agent. 

The Fufa competitions director explained that there is cause for alarm as that only appears in the domestic [Uganda/Fufa] Transfer Matching System and not in the International Transfer Matching System, which was used while transferring him to the Moroccan club. This seems like an anomaly.

“I think we released him from the system because he even played [competitive] football in Morocco. Maybe the problem is with Fufa who didn’t remove him from the system. Sometimes I think they forget to update their system,” Samuel Mugabi, who was the club’s third vice president at the time of transfer, said.