2023: A year of highs, lows for sports in Uganda

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | In September, the East Africa Pamoja consortium, comprising Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, was awarded the privilege of hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The announcement was made by Patrice Motsepe, the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt.

The three Eastern African nations clinched the hosting rights, triumphing over contenders such as South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Senegal. This marked a significant milestone for East African collaboration.

Two months earlier, Motsepe, during a two-day visit to Uganda, encouraged Uganda and Tanzania to submit a joint bid for hosting AFCON. His endorsement prompted the three governments to embark on this ambitious journey.

However, while the Heads of State and Presidents of the football federations of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda celebrated the victory with enthusiasm, there were mixed reactions from the public.

On social media, a wave of satire and negative comments swept across the platforms, with these critics expressing doubts about their countries’ readiness to successfully host the football tournament. They focused on the challenges that continue to plague their nations’ facilities and infrastructure.

In Uganda, memes and satirical content creatively depicted the sorry state of the city’s roads, humorously portraying African players, coaches, and referees navigating flash floods that have become commonplace in the capital. For nearly a week, two Ugandan Soccer Stadia; Nakivubo and Namboole stadiums trended on X formerly Twitter with several critics punching holes in the readiness of the two stadia.

The primary question that arose is whether the three countries possess the necessary capacity to host such a grand event in just four years, given the infrastructure hurdles within their borders. Inadequate stadium infrastructure had long plagued many East African nations, and as a result, many have been forced to host their continental matches in foreign territories.

Previously, FUFA was forced to host two of its AFCON qualifier games away from home after failing to provide a CAF-qualified stadium to host a continental game.

Uganda in particular has had no CAF-approved stadium for nearly three years since the Mandela Stadium, Namboole was blacklisted in 2020 for being substandard, and CAF inspectors recommended an overhaul. To date, the country has not been able to complete the renovation valued at 97 billion shillings.

But Moses Magogo, the FUFA President urged Ugandans to be extremely positive because they lose nothing when one supports CAF’s decision. He also said that the government has assured the Federation that it will provide the requirements to ensure the successful hosting of the event.

In his end-of-the-year interaction with the Media, President Yoweri Museveni, said that he is sure that with Namboole, and Nakivubo, the country is capable of hosting AFCON. The President further added that there are plans to complete the Akii Bua stadium in Lira to be the third stadium that will accompany the already existing ones.

In the same month, FUFA decided to terminate Milutin Sredojevic Micho’s contract barely two weeks after Uganda Cranes failed to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing third in their group.

Micho who previously led Uganda Cranes to the 2017 AFCON after a nearly four-decade absence from the continental championship, was reappointed in 2021 on a three-year term contract after the Federation parted ways with former Cranes Chief, Jonathan McKinstry.

Previously, Uganda Cranes fans had high hopes that the team’s back-to-back qualifications would become a regular achievement.

However, their inability to secure a spot in the 2021 edition, despite a strong start in the qualifiers, raised concerns and strained the relationship between FUFA and Jonathan McKinstry, ultimately leading to Micho’s appointment with hopes that he would replicate what he achieved back in 2016.

Unfortunately, Micho’s return failed to yield the desired results. Uganda Cranes struggled to make a significant impact in the just-concluded AFCON qualification tournament, managing only two wins in six games, which placed their return to AFCON in jeopardy.

Uganda Cranes finished in third place with seven points, falling just one point short of the Taifa Stars, who secured their spot as group runners-up with eight points. Algeria topped the group with an impressive sixteen points while Niger finished last with two points.

Throughout his tenure as the Cranes’ head coach, Micho had frequently come under scrutiny for his style of play and tactical choices, which were often perceived as outdated.

Critics accused him of adopting a more defensive approach, overloading the team with defenders, resulting in players being played out of their natural positions and restricting attack-minded players to defensive roles.

However, while several critics put all the blame on Micho, former Uganda Cranes defender and captain Andy Mwesigwa in an interaction with URN said the blame should shift even to players and suggested a comprehensive overhaul of the team. He recommends retaining only assistant Captain Khalid Aucho while prioritizing emerging talents, especially those from the Under 20 team that achieved success in the U-20 2021 African Cup of Nations in Mauritania.

SHE CRANES TOPS AFRICA AT WORLD CUP

In August the Uganda National women’s netball team, the She Cranes achieved a historic triumph when they claimed fifth place at the World Cup, their best-ever placement in the tournament’s history.

For the first time, Uganda left the prestigious netball championship as Africa’s top-ranked team, marking a significant improvement from their 7th-place finish in the 2019 edition.

Back in the country, as several officials gathered to celebrate the girls, there were calls to the government to harmonize sports funding, with a particular emphasis on bolstering netball funding.

Over time, several sports administrators have pointed out gaps in the government’s sports funding criteria, while others have consistently advocated for prioritizing funding for sports disciplines that yield notable results. This trend began with athletics, followed by boxing, and now, netball.

While unveiling the 2023/2024 financial year budget, the sports subsector’s funding saw an increase to 48.9 billion Shillings. But, it is the Federation of Uganda’s Football Associations (FUFA) that once again secured a lion’s share of around 17 billion Shillings, while netball received a paltry 300 million Shillings.

Sports Federations Wrangles

Uganda Boxing Federation President Moses Muhangi was arrested and remanded to Luzira prison on charges of forgery and uttering a false document.

The court heard that Muhangi together with Lydia Namutebi who is the former accountant of UBF, between March and April 2022 at the head offices of the federation in Lugogo in Kampala district, forged a company receipt of Tents 4 U Company Ltd.

The court further heard that; Muhangi, on April 19, 2022, at the National Council of Sports (NCS) offices at Lugogo knowingly and fraudulently uttered a false document purporting to have been issued by the owners of the Tents 4 U whereas not. He was later released on bail.

Equally, the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala in November also remanded Sarah Babirye Kityo, the Uganda Netball President to Luzira Prisons on charges of false accounting, involving a sum of 186 million Shillings. The court heard that between November and December 2021 at the Uganda Netball Federation Office in Kampala District, Babirye and others allegedly engaged in false accounting with the intent to defraud.   and Uganda Netball President Sarah Babirye Kityo.

The funds in question, totaling 186,374,110 Shillings, were allocated to the Federation by the National Council of Sports for the Pent Series and African National Championship in Namibia, during Babirye’s tenure as the Federation President.

However, while both Presidents were accused of misappropriation of government funds, several critics put their arrests to their long-term battle with the National Council of Sports General Secretary Dr. Patrick Ogwel, and others accusing him of fueling their arrests.

For a long time, the two federation leaders were vocal critics of Ogwel, accusing the organization of unfair funding practices towards sports federations. Babirye cited the netball team trip to South Africa in 2021 for the Male Netball Championship where Ogwel reportedly demanded Shs 40 million cash in kickback out of the allocated 100 million Shillings.

NCS REVOKES NETBALL FEDERATION CERTIFICATE

In October, the National Council of Sports (NCS) officially revoked the Certificate of Recognition from the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF). The decision was announced in a press statement issued on October 25, 2023. According to the NCS, the decision followed the persistent governance and leadership challenges within the UNF, as well as their failure to adhere to Ugandan laws and statutes.

“We would like the sports fraternity and the General public to know that these governance issues and leadership challenges were brought to the attention of the National Council of Sports and the Ministry of Education and Sports two and a half years ago for an amicable resolution, but all the official processes followed that have time have failed,” read the press statement.

The challenges cited by the NCS include unresolved governance and leadership issues, failure to follow constitutional provisions for executive committee elections, incorrect procedures to amend the constitution, and lack of transparency regarding funding sources. However, the NCS emphasized that the UNF has the opportunity to reapply for recognition once these issues have been addressed.

This development came amid a long-standing dispute between Sarah Babirye Kityo, the UNF President, and Dr. Patrick Ogwel, the NCS General Secretary. Kityo had sued the NCS, challenging alleged interference in UNF activities and accusations of misappropriation of funds orchestrated by Ogwel.

Subsequently, World Netball announced the formation of a four-member ad-hoc committee entrusted with the day-to-day operations of the UNF until new elections are held. The committee, chaired by Moses Mwase, Uganda Olympic Committee Vice President, includes Peace Proscovia as the athletes’ representative, along with Cecilia Anyacoti of the National Sports Council and Leticia Namutebi, a member of the Commonwealth Games Athletes Commission.

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URN