Moses Magogo
Back in 2006 as Uganda prepared to host the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), I and a few friends mooted the idea of spicing up the event with a football tournament amongst the Commonwealth nations.
It is something that was warmly welcomed by government and several football stakeholders. Amelia Kyambadde, then principal private secretary to the president, informed us of President Museveni’s blessing, as did Education and Sports minister Namirembe Bitamazire.
Everything was set in motion when 11 countries, including Australia, Tanzania, Zambia, Trinidad & Tobago gave us their assurance. Meanwhile, sponsors such as GTV, Crown Beverages, Protector and Hotel Africana had given us their backing. More than $500,000 had already been spent on preparations, including passing all the security requirements.
However, the only sticking point was the nod by Fufa as the football governing body. Dr Lawrence Mulindwa was a relative newcomer in football administration, having ascended to the Fufa hot seat months earlier. He admitted he needed technical guidance and handed us Moses Magogo to coordinate the preparations.
It was at that point that everything started to drag as Magogo created all sorts of roadblocks to the tournament. His issue was to show him the money and it had to be Fufa to manage it on the organizers’ behalf. He also reasoned that Uganda was not prepared to host a tournament of that magnitude.
This created a stalemate and after missing some preparation deadlines, the whole concept was painfully abandoned at the last minute, something that still distresses me to this day.
I would later learn that we were sabotaged because Magogo convinced all and sundry at Fufa that the success of the tournament would have been a threat to the federation.
With that experience from the past, I was skeptical when Fufa offered Uganda to co-host Afcon at a time when there is no reliable stadium, not to mention the fact that the national team and domestic league are at an all-time low in terms of competition level and fan-following.
Even after winning the bid alongside Kenya and Tanzania, I remain skeptical whether Uganda will pull off its end of the bargain unless government takes over the strategic areas of the organization.
I say so because we have a Fufa leadership that enjoys giving directives to other stakeholders while at the same time controlling all channels of funds. At the bare minimum, Uganda needs to construct a new stadium within the next three years, something that may only be attained if government commits resources to the project.
By now, Fufa’s technical masterplan that they relied on to win the bid would be out so that stakeholders in various ministries, such as Finance, Tourism and Trade.
Instead, I expect Fufa to play their victim game by accusing government of not offering it funds to fast-track the preparations. That’s how they operate. So, the earlier government takes charge, the better the chances of having a successful Afcon 2027.
All this explains why Uganda’s successful bid was met with cynicism on social media platforms and people made fun of the embarrassment we are set to endure.
The author is SC Villa first vice president in charge of mobilization
Source: The Observer
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