Fufa’s tokenism will only serve to kill football 

Fufa’s recent introduction of the Fufa TV Cup for a select group of eight traditional schools raises a lot of questions.

While the initiative may have good intentions to promote the sport in traditional schools, it represents a form of tokenism and classism on top of failing to address the most pertinent issues facing football development in Uganda.

Firstly, whatever Fufa is doing is a sign that the federation has extra cash to spend on. Unfortunately, whatever Fufa is doing with this tournament is already addressed by the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA), which holds various tournaments right from sub-county level up to the national tournament.

The USSSA national tournament has been around for decades and its popularity seems to grow with each passing year. Even the select eight schools also participate in USSSA-organized events albeit with minimal success. So, why try to water down USSSA efforts by duplicating their efforts through tokenism?

In short, there was no need for Fufa to create a special tournament for a select group when the federation could channel their efforts through USSSA. Incidentally, the USSSA national tournament has no title sponsor and it baffles me why Fufa chose to create a separate schools tournament.

What’s more, I am not sure what criteria Fufa used to pick the eight, but all signs are that it is discriminatory to create a class of elite schools in Ugandan football.

I see elitism written all over this Fufa TV tournament and I doubt if it will go far. Already, a number of Fufa delegates have confided how that Fufa TV tournament was never introduced or discussed in the Fufa assembly yet Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, thought it wise to divert millions to impress a few schools at the expense of funding more deserving projects.

If I am to go with Magogo’s claim that each televised Uganda Premier League (UPL) match costs Fufa Shs 13m, then the federation could have spent not less than Shs 200m on its schools tournament.

This confirms that Fufa’s issue is not funding, but funding priorities. It is the same way Fufa ill-advisedly created the Drum tournament in a bid to outshine Masaza Cup. This is akin to a father competing with his children for attention.

Fufa’s machinations are a deliberate intention to downplay existing tournaments outside their direct control. To downplay Masaza Cup, Fufa tricked Buganda kingdom officials into buying the idea of Fufa to control the referees.

This leveraged Fufa to control match officials who in turn control the game. As a result, we have witnessed a rise in abandoned matches due to poor officiating, a thing that dents the reputation of the tournament. Is all this a coincidence? I doubt.

So, Masaza Cup organizers need to train their own match officials who can handle games with objectivity. We all know that whoever controls the match officials controls the direction and reputation of the game.

Amidst all this, it is better to find quick solutions to the current impasse. In order to better handle funding and attract interest in the game, Fufa should consider a more strategic approach that prioritizes grassroots development and fan engagement.

Fufa must redirect its funding towards grassroots development programs. Instead of focusing solely on impressing a few groups, investment should be channeled into identifying and nurturing young talent at the grassroots level.

This can be achieved by establishing well-equipped football academies in various regions of the country, organizing regular youth tournaments, and providing quality coaching and training programs.

Youth from traditional schools have never taken football as a career and I don’t remember the last time a player from the schools Fufa selected last played for the national team. So, by investing in grassroots development, Fufa can create a sustainable pipeline of talented players who can eventually represent Uganda at the national and international levels.

So, while the introduction of the Fufa TV Cup for traditional schools may have been well-intentioned, it is important for Fufa to reevaluate its approach to attracting interest in the game.

By prioritizing grassroots development, coaching and education, fan engagement, and strategic partnerships, Fufa can build a strong foundation for the sustainable growth of football in Uganda.

It is through these comprehensive efforts that the sport will flourish, fostering a vibrant football culture and realizing the full potential of Ugandan football on the national and international stages.

The author is SC Villa president emeritus.