Fufa to start advisory board for players

When Zambian striker Patson Daka moved to Leicester City in England in 2021, the news came as no surprise in Uganda but it was still welcomed with soul searching questions.

Seven years earlier, Daka had been chief torementor of the Ugandan U-17 side as he led his home nation to the finals of the 2015 Caf U-17 finals in Niger.

Uganda’s biggest prospect from that qualifying competition had perhaps been Muhammad Shaban but in the seven years, he had lit up the local league at Onduparaka and KCCA thereby securing a move to Moroccan side Raja Casablanca, which did not last long and had returned to play for Vipers.

This is no criticism of the local leagues but recognition that exposure builds experience and furthers careers.

Uganda has now started to force itself into the youth tournament top class on the continent. The U-17s qualified for the 2019 and 2021 continental championships.

The U-20s (Hippos) were finalists in theirs in 2021 and quarterfinalists last year but have also won silver at the African Games in Accra, Ghana.

The women U-17 could have qualified for the 2020 World Cup had it not been for Covid-19 while the U-20s (Queen Cranes) came within a round of qualifying for their 2022 World Cup edition. They are also bronze medalists from the African Games.

In all likelihood, more players could be looked at as prospects for the professional ranks.

Continuity challenges

“Our challenge now is to transform this (success) to the senior national teams,” Fufa president Moses Magogo told the Hippos and Queen Cranes at their welcome dinner held Sunday at Imperial Royale Hotel.

“As we speak now, the top scorer (Derrick Kakooza) of that 2021 tournament in Mauritania is not playing any notable football anywhere. But the dream after that tournament was that that squad would transform into the senior national team,” Magogo said as he further addressed the State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang. Kakooza’s career led him to Latvia, Finland and Egypt within two years.

“It is the same dream to transform this (U-20) team into the national team. But so many agents are going to start talking to them and they will end up making the wrong decisions.

It is said that there are over 250 million footballers in the world but out of every 1000, only two make it to the very top. But in Uganda, we have the talk of “kugezesa mukisa gwe”. Letting someone try their luck.

However, the way life is, there is no luck. You must be good enough and it is your responsibility as a player to create yourself into being the chosen one. We have beaten the junior sides of Congo, Nigeria and Senegal but we end up losing to them at the top (senior team) level so it is not a question of ability but of decisions.

That is why Fufa is going to create a function at Fufa to create these opportunities for these players. We have the biggest access to speak to anyone in the (football) world. It will be an advisory function but we want to ensure that you get proper contracts and representation.

"We recognize the efforts of the clubs and they will still be the beneficiaries of these transfers. But our problem with them right now is that they accept any little money and the players end up going to the wrong destinations. In the end we all lose; the club, the player, the national team and the federation, which by the way is creating the opportunity for that player to be scouted (through youth tournaments).”

Deliberate

To further defend this idea, Magogo cut through the media for criticizing the double-licensed players’ project, which allows players to play in two divisions if they cannot get enough playing time at their parent club.

“When the media was praising Bruno (Bunyaga, URA striker also playing for Kiyinda Boys in the Big League) for the goals that took us to the finals (in Accra), none of them remembered that he is a double-licensed player,” Magogo said.

Projects Started by Fufa

-Fufa TV/ Radio

-Merchandise brand Janzi

-Double licensing

-Fufa TV Cup (for schools)

-Fufa Drum

-Capacity building