Magogo’s latest coup on clubs should be an eyeopener

IMMANUEL BEN MISAGGA

One of the trending memes on social media is a clip of infuriated Erias Lukwago, the Kampala lord mayor, telling off someone in studio that “Mujooga…Mujooga…Mujooga Basajja Mwe.” I do not think there is a direct English translation, but the phrase is basically an outcry to an oppressor that acts with impunity.

That is the exact situation local clubs find themselves in after last week’s unilateral decision by Moses Magogo, the discredited Fufa boss, to end the 2019/2020 football season.

My contention is not about the declaration to end the season, but the way it was done.

To contextualize this, you have to go back to the start of the lockdown in March when Magogo declared openly declared that the remaining five games of the UPL must be played.

He even came up with various options such as playing games behind closed doors, extending the 2021 season to start in September or at least wait till

August to make a final decision.
Even in the first weeks of May when Fufa received a $500,000 bounty from Fifa to ease the impact of Covid-19 on football activities, he maintained the league would have to be completed.

However, the tone changed when clubs amplified their demand for a share of the Covid-19 fund. That is when he realized that the longer the debate rumbles on, the more scrutiny he attracts given that it was impossible for clubs to keep incurring costs of maintenance when they cannot get any income from gate collections.

The noble way Fufa would feast on this $500,000 without raising many eyebrows was to cancel the season because clubs cannot cry out for a bailout when they are not awaiting any action. Simple.

This was also an opportunity for Magogo to hit back at his bitter foes Mujib Kasule and Allan Ssewanyana when he saw their clubs – Proline FC and Katwe United respectively – were in relegation dogfights.

So, he swiftly decided to cancel the league without consulting any of the principal stakeholders – the clubs. Not that consulting them would have changed anything, but the principal of fair hearing is paramount.

It is quite ironical that whenever it comes to development or operational financial support, FUFA disengages from the rest of the football family. And whenever clubs associate to strengthen their footprint to leverage on their strength, then FUFA steps up with self-destructive and overbearing “oversight” to the extent of committing financial contracts on behalf of clubs and worse still taking money from clubs’ coffers. Its apparent that FUFA has taken the path of becoming a competitor with the same game they superintend over and therefore weakening club football.

I talked to a club owner who had invested more than Shs 150m in the season but only got to know about his club’s relegation from social media.

Also, I have no doubt that had this Covid-19 lockdown found either of the current SC Villa, Express or even KCCA in one of the relegation spots, Fufa would have found a way to save them.

Meanwhile, Magogo’s decision has far-reaching consequences on the politics of Ugandan football.

Firstly, he basically decimated the UPL because can nolonger speak as a unit due to lack quorum now that Proline, Maroons and Tooro are not in UPL.

Remember even the promoted teams cannot constitute the UPL until they are approved by the Fufa assembly, which may not meet in the foreseeable future in these social distance days.

In short, Magogo has usurped all powers of the UPL putting a muzzle mask on a barking dog.

Unfortunately, several clubs sold their soul to Fufa and willfully obeys whatever is presented to them. How else could KCCA celebrate to be nominated to represent Uganda in the Caf Confederation Cup next season when there is no legal parameter for that?

The author is Nyamityobora FC president