Nile Special USPA Awards:
- Best Run Sports Federation: Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA)
- Nile Special Male Footballer of the Year: Dennis Onyango (Uganda Cranes and Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Nile Special Female Footballer of the Year: Ruth Aturo (Crested Cranes and UCU Lady Cardinals)
Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) continues to set the trend and the right precedent.
FUFA was named the best run sports federation of the year, 2018 by the Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) during the sports journalists’ annual sports awards and dinner ceremony held at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala.
FUFA’s award was received by Executive Committee members Hamid Juma and Ronnie Kalema, handled over by Nile Breweries Limited official Onapito Okomolit, the legal and corporate affairs director at the beer company who are also partners of the football federation to finance the Uganda Cranes.
The other FUFA official in attendance was the Federation Marketing Director Esther Musoke.
The USPA accolade is affirmation and confidence in FUFA months after the national sports governing body, National Council of Sports (NCS) also named FUFA as the best sports run of the year, 2018.
To win the gong, USPA picked FUFA for the right governance structures, affluent accountability, good competitions (Star Times Uganda Premier League, Star Times FUFA Big League, FUFA Drum, Stanbic Uganda Cup, FUFA Women Elite League, Airtel FUFA Juniors League, Airtel Rising Stars, the regional leagues among others), as well as assembling different competitive national teams (Uganda Cranes, Crested Cranes, Hippos and Cubs).
In the year 2018, Uganda Cranes returned to the AFCON finals that will be staged in Egypt for the second time in a row following the Gabon championship in 2017.
Prior to the last final group L game played against Tanzania, Uganda Cranes had not lost any game nor conceded any goal.
Also, the national U-17 team (Cubs) qualified for their maiden AFCON U-17 finals that will be staged in Tanzania this April.
The administration of Eng. Moses Magogo, the president of FUFA fronts the vivid vision of being the best on the African continent.
Under the FUFA and its Development Programmes element, the federation also works around the clock to ensure full professionalism, commercialisation of the game, generation of positive sporting results, sports as economic sector (discussions with tourism), strategy on a five year plan in the areas of governance, membership, marketing and communications, competitions (preaching the clubs Pro Agenda), infrastructure, technical development and strengthening the national teams’ brand.
Meanwhile, Uganda Cranes captain and first choice goalkeeper Dennis Onyango was named the Nile Special male footballer of the year.
The Mamelodi Sundowns shot stopper was outstanding for club and country during the year 2018.
In the same vein, Crested Cranes and UCU Lady Cardinals goalkeeper Ruth Aturo was named the Nile Special female footballer of the year.
Frank Kagyigyi Tumwebaze, the current Cabinet Minister of Information Technology and Communications was the chief guest, representing the First Lady, also the minster of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni.
Other high profile guests in attendance included Hon. Charles Bakabulindi (State minister of sports and USPA Patron), David Semakula Katende (Assistant General Secretary at National Council of Sports), other sports federation representatives, among others.
