After KCCA swap Byekwaso with Mayanja, fortunes of young coaches appear doomed

Morley Byekwaso's unceremonious departure from KCCA FC last Sunday was a long time coming, following a whirlwind season in which the Kasasiro Boys have progressed with interruptions. 

KCCA through and through, having first joined the club as an impressionable 15-year-old player, Byekwaso was cast as a slam-dunk for success when he took Mike Mutebi's place in the dugout at Lugogo mid 2021. While your columnist had his reservations about the 46-year-old filling Mutebi's shoes, the thought of Lugogo being turned into a Petri dish for bad ideas never crossed my mind.

Looking from the outside, many KCCA FC fans thought the difference between the two tacticians was a fine distinction. They waved away suggestions that Mutebi's heir apparent would operate at the margins of acceptability. 

Byekwaso had earned his stripes after showing his mettle and acumen by guiding Uganda to a second place finish at the 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. He was not just downright admirable, but had significant appeal. So much so that one cityzen accosted me after reading my May 15, 2021, column entitled History shows that Byekwaso's honeymoon at Lugogo could end as quickly as it began.

I argued back then that while at times youthful coaches that come in as low-maintenance replacements for pre-eminent names at Lugogo can claim vindication, they never cheat fate. Eventually. 

Before Byekwaso fell on his own sword, a prime example was Abdallah Mubiru who—despite KCCA FC's dyed-in-the-wool fans willing a different outcome—found George 'Best' Nsimbe a tough act to follow.

Fascinatingly, the cityzen that accosted me in May of 2021 was amongst the many whose anger found a new focus after the Kasasiro Boys gave away a cheap injury time equaliser. This was during a ‘floodlit’ match when KCCA FC played host to UPDF. 

Yet more than expecting an apology from the fan that accosted me, I invite them to think deeply about why up-and-coming coaches in Uganda command the shelf life of defrosted fish.

As the stakes rise, so will the risks and rewards. As a matter of fact, when push comes to shove, most Ugandan top flight football clubs are not willing to bide their time whenever wunderkind coaches fall on lean times. KCCA FC's top brass will be quick to claim innocence yet beneath the veneer of tolerance shown to Byekwaso is the fact that the invariably courteous and soft-spoken coach jumped before he was pushed.

Just to be clear, this ailment is not specific to KCCA FC. The safe bet is on Vipers SC's top brass wielding the axe when Alex Isabirye finds himself stuck in a rut. As indeed he will at some point.

This chopping and changing of youthful coaches leaves Ugandan club football subservient to old-timers that—for all intents and purposes—should be lost to the fog of history. KCCA FC have already turned to an echo from the past in the shape of Jackson Mayanja.

Fresh from failing to do what Byekwaso did in 2021 when he guided Uganda to the top echelons of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Mayanja—who has been appointed on an interim basis ay Lugogo—should brace himself for a frosty reception. A much-loved player at Lugogo, Mayanja's last coaching spell at KCCA FC was rarely memorable. 

A tough title run-in looks primed to make that much more difficult any attempt  to restore relations between club and fans to their proper channels. As KCCA FC is wrenched out of its current workings, it would do Ugandan club football a world of good getting to the bottom of why its fresh-faced coaches always fall flat on their baby faces. Why is the recycling of old-timers who are serviceable without being anywhere near to top-notch not about to end?