Can we see less of our sports officials on the back pages for crying out loud!

Uganda netball internationals have in recent times acquitted themselves as spellbinding performers with a knack for stagecraft and a catalogue of post-match dance moves to go with. Home and away, they are the darlings of many. Yet they continue to be assailed by doubts and regrets.

Indeed what ails the She Cranes has proved ineradicable. While legions of their fans prefer to live in denial, the writing is pretty much etched on the wall. Rather than be derailed by their ignorance, She Cranes fans should acknowledge the team's common despair and differences in the boardroom that may well be unbridgeable.

An escalation has for sometime seemed inevitable, with an apocalyptic showdown pitting Sarah Babirye Kityo—local netball's top official—against the National Council of Sports (NCS). If the rhetoric of Benard Patrick Ogwel—Council’s larger-than-life general secretary—is rarely punctuated with measured responses, so is Kityo’s chatter. So sparks were always bound to fly when the two ended up on a collision course.

As the two mortal foes continue to stalk each other over alleged misappropriation of funds (Kityo was recently sent on gardening leave), there is one place the She Cranes are bound to be condemned to. Unfortunately for the team's long-suffering players they will not be—metaphorically speaking—enjoying smoothies and burgers under umbrellas set against the blistering sun. No. 

For a team that has proved that it can hold on through those periods when critical praise does not translate into wider visibility, She Cranes should worry not. The team counts, among its seemingly infinite back-against-the-wall conquests, placing third at 2013 Africa Netball Championship—behind powerhouse South Africa and hosts Malawi—after travelling nearly 2,500 kilometres in a weather-beaten bus.

It is a decade now since the above-mentioned rickety bus carried the likes of Rachael Nanyonga and Ruth Meeme on the makeshift dirt roads of Uganda and Tanzania before settling in Blantyre. Uganda eventually got a deserved global ranking after figuring in that 2013 continental championship. Today they are currently ranked eighth in the world; yet it still feels like we have come full circle. 

And this is not because Fred Mugerwa is still She Cranes head coach. No. In between the She Cranes' purple patch, Mugerwa was asked to let go of the team's coaching reins. He has since returned to sensibly and perceptively call the shots for the She Cranes from the fringes. But the old greybeard has been met with challenges that bear a striking resemblance to the ones he grappled with during his first coaching stint. 

The She Cranes should be sparing no effort in readying themselves for the forthcoming World Cup slated to run from July 23 to August 6. Whatever you think of the players, their ambition cannot be denied. Yet the NCS officials to whose care they are entrusted remain a big let down.

It remains inconceivable that they will metamorphose to a version that does not wreak intolerable damage. A wrecking ball is what they are destined to be. Forever.

The undisputed truth is that the players who put their bodies on the line deserve better. They cannot be forced to watch as the supposed adults in the room throw their toys out of the pram.

This is unacceptable, and should be roundly condemned.
The adults in the room should channel all their energies into ensuring that our players have the necessary tools of trade. Ultimately, we should see less of the officials on our back pages and more of the players. Surely this is not too much to ask, is it?