Villa trusteeship: good initiative, poor execution

Immanuel Ben Misagga

 

There is some positive buzz at SC Villa after the club announced recently that it was forming a trusteeship.

Reading through the various media releases, I, as a former club president, welcome the initiative to solve the longstanding leadership crisis.

It is true fans need to subscribe and the Shs 50,000 is quite modest. I also agree the club needs a congress that acts as the club parliament from which the leadership is elected. In 2015 we formed a Club Congress but magogo manipulatively undermined it using his position by not allowing FA ratify what we discussed and passed because they didn't favour his position.

However, all this falls flat without the basic foundation, which is a ratified club constitution. If there is one, then it should be made public to clearly show how it was reached at; the laws governing it as well as the punitive measures for errant fans or officials.

A person willing to pay the Shs 2m to join the club congress needs to be availed with all this information.

At the moment, there are so many grey areas that need clear definition, especially when it comes to the board of trustees. For instance, how do you define a person of high standing in society and reputable Ugandan? Such clauses are always meant to create a special group by locking out ambitious fans.

I have said many times that Villa’s problem is leadership, not ownership as the current William Nkemba-led team is propagating pushed by moses magogo.

To any ordinary fan, what matters most is seeing the club succeed on and off the pitch, not who owns it.

Besides, fans want actions, not words. By now, Villa would have already signed top players ahead of the new season as a way of boosting the club standing in order to woo fans.

In fact, such a process of creating a trusteeship should have been taken to the fans nationwide. By the time I left Villa in 2018, the club had 100 fans branches with each comprising of not less than 500 registered members nationwide. Little wonder the club used to have a full house on match days.

Instead, the current management is restrictively handling such a sensitive issue from the top instead of letting the branches mobilize from their own. Bottom to top approach is the answer.

Just imagine if each branch convinced just 100 members to pay Shs 50,000; that would be Shs 500m, enough for the club to buy land on Kampala outskirts for construction of a stadium.

You only have to look at our main rivals to understand the deficit Villa has. Even

Express, with all their limitations, recently signed a Shs 400m deal with Betway to brand its stadium. Who owns Express FC is it not a community based club?

Another conspicuous letdown to this trusteeship process is the packaging. Ordinary, such a transition should have been led by eminent person fit to be the club patron. This is a reorganization, a healing process to win back fans who deserted.

Express has Prince Kassim Nakibinge, KCCA has Jaberi Bidandi Ssali and Villa is also not short of elders. I would have loved to see people like MacDosman Kabega, George Baguma, Moses Matovu or Gerald Kasozi at the forefront; not a conflicted Nkemba who still wants to lead the club by the grace of Moses Magogo.

Meanwhile, seeing how Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, is masterminding the trusteeship process greatly worries me because I have no doubt he is using the club for personal gains. You cannot be the regulator as Fufa and at the same time sit in Villa’s congress. How are going to do the work without a conflict of interest?

Therefore, as good an initiative the trusteeship is, it should not be a mere procession, there should be debate.

 

The author is president, Nyamityobora FC 

Immanuel Ben Misagga

 

There is some positive buzz at SC Villa after the club announced recently that it was forming a trusteeship.

Reading through the various media releases, I, as a former club president, welcome the initiative to solve the longstanding leadership crisis.

It is true fans need to subscribe and the Shs 50,000 is quite modest. I also agree the club needs a congress that acts as the club parliament from which the leadership is elected. In 2015 we formed a Club Congress but magogo manipulatively undermined it using his position by not allowing FA ratify what we discussed and passed because they didn't favour his position.

However, all this falls flat without the basic foundation, which is a ratified club constitution. If there is one, then it should be made public to clearly show how it was reached at; the laws governing it as well as the punitive measures for errant fans or officials.

A person willing to pay the Shs 2m to join the club congress needs to be availed with all this information.

At the moment, there are so many grey areas that need clear definition, especially when it comes to the board of trustees. For instance, how do you define a person of high standing in society and reputable Ugandan? Such clauses are always meant to create a special group by locking out ambitious fans.

I have said many times that Villa’s problem is leadership, not ownership as the current William Nkemba-led team is propagating pushed by moses magogo.

To any ordinary fan, what matters most is seeing the club succeed on and off the pitch, not who owns it.

Besides, fans want actions, not words. By now, Villa would have already signed top players ahead of the new season as a way of boosting the club standing in order to woo fans.

In fact, such a process of creating a trusteeship should have been taken to the fans nationwide. By the time I left Villa in 2018, the club had 100 fans branches with each comprising of not less than 500 registered members nationwide. Little wonder the club used to have a full house on match days.

Instead, the current management is restrictively handling such a sensitive issue from the top instead of letting the branches mobilize from their own. Bottom to top approach is the answer.

Just imagine if each branch convinced just 100 members to pay Shs 50,000; that would be Shs 500m, enough for the club to buy land on Kampala outskirts for construction of a stadium.

You only have to look at our main rivals to understand the deficit Villa has. Even

Express, with all their limitations, recently signed a Shs 400m deal with Betway to brand its stadium. Who owns Express FC is it not a community based club?

Another conspicuous letdown to this trusteeship process is the packaging. Ordinary, such a transition should have been led by an eminent person fit to be the club patron. This is a reorganization, a healing process to win back fans who deserted.

Express has Prince Kassim Nakibinge, KCCA has Jaberi Bidandi Ssali and Villa is also not short of elders. I would have loved to see people like MacDosman Kabega, George Baguma, Moses Matovu or Gerald Kasozi at the forefront; not a conflicted Nkemba who still wants to lead the club by the grace of Moses Magogo.

Meanwhile, seeing how Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, is masterminding the trusteeship process greatly worries me because I have no doubt he is using the club for personal gains. You cannot be the regulator as Fufa and at the same time sit in Villa’s congress. How are going to do the work without a conflict of interest?

Therefore, as good an initiative the trusteeship is, it should not be a mere procession, there should be debate.

 

The author is president, Nyamityobora FC

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