Proper governance building Fufa image 

The 96th Fufa Ordinary General Assembly will be held on October 17, 2020, in Kampala. The decision over hosting rights is decided by the Fufa Executive Committee. However, it is on a regional rotational basis.
Well laid down activities preceding the Assembly is a sign of proper governance, good leadership and effective management in Fufa. 
It has been the story since 2013 when Eng. Moses Magogo was elected Fufa president. There have been great strides demonstrated in the areas accountability for activities undertaken by various organs of Fufa, hence creating transparency. 
Fufa have made strides to allow the functioning of its five organs; the Assembly, Executive, Judicial bodies, Standing committees and Secretariat. 

The Fufa Membership, which numbers to 34, has also been improved up on by giving them liberty to run their activities annually. 
The relationship between the football governing body in Uganda and the government has been to help in the growth of the game in the country.  The government is a key stakeholder in the development of the game. There are matters that affect football but only government can provide solutions.  
Our strategic plans to reach out to various Government functionalities and personalities paid off as we  engaged President Museveni and it is now possible that the President easily calls the national team captain, the head coach and the Fufa president to discuss football. 

Without proper functionality of structures, there was always going to be lots of wrangles and lack of trust in the system. Development was always going to be overshadowed by football politics.
There had been a lot of progress in this area before Magogo became Fufa president. There was total overhaul of Fufa Statutes where the president had absolute powers to hire and fire but there were still underlying issues that needed urgent direction. 
There was a mix up of roles by various Fufa bodies as individuals took centre stage way above the institution. 

There was luck of trust with the independence and integrity of the decisions made by the Fufa organs. 
There were challenges with the Executive Committee meetings which were never scheduled in accordance with the Fufa Statutes but were always called whenever there was need. 
The secretariat was struggling with lack of quality man power and worked with minimal numbers. The Executive and Standing committees often performed roles of the secretariat.  
The Statutes did not give a clear distinction between Fufa Ltd – the legal arm – and Fufa, the association. 

The former players (Uganda Football Players Association) and upcoming players (Uganda Youth Football Association) were not members of the General Assembly but have since been admitted. 
Fufa was also able to submit whatever was required to NCS for recognition as the Association mandated to regulate and manage the sport of football in Uganda. 
Our legal team has been able to defend Fufa and its officials from various legal attacks and all forms of litigation.  The legal reforms will also help in improving service delivery to the football stakeholders. 

The numbers for women representation will increase starting in 2021 as per proposals passed in the Fufa Assembly held in Adjumani in 2019.   
The financial period was re-aligned to end December 31. Fufa now runs a budget that has been approved by the General Assembly unlike the case before the amendment.
The Fufa Secretariat has been improved in terms of system, personnel and facilities as more space was created following the acquisition of two buildings to cater for the increasing staff now at 60.  
With such signs of good governance, it is highly likely that Fufa is heading in the right direction.

Ahmed Hussein

Mr Hussein is the Fufa Communications Director 
Twitter: @AhmedMarsha