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We are on right path and we shall not be detracted-FA President

Below was the FUFA President’s speech during the FUFA weekly Press Conference on Wednesday 11th December 2013 at FUFA House

Main Issues: State of Affairs

I am here to address the Media on 3 main issues that I deemed fit to come out and clarify. These are FIFA Performance, National Teams and Finances

FIFA Performance;
This is a FIFA Programme that may be requested by Member Associations for the evaluation and long term planning of football activities in a country. As soon as I became President, I required that FIFA expedites the earlier request made for this programme. FIFA has since sent a panel of experts who together with the FUFA Executive Committee evaluated the FUFA business processes and drew up a long term plan with short medium and long term objectives. The plan includes the following areas;
1) Technical development agenda,
2) Administration and Management,
3) Governance,
4) League and clubs development
5) Marketing and communications

The FUFA Excom will sit next week to draw up detailed plans of executions and many of our next activities will depend on this plan. The details will be communicated after next week.

National Teams:
The long term objective of FUFA is to create the senior men and women national teams that can win continental and world competitions. This is not an objective to be achieved in a few years. It can only be achieved through a long term and thorough football technical development plan. Football development requires patience and is painful. If we choose the path of development we must be prepared to endure bad results, we cannot have both results and development.
We withdrew the Women U-20 football team from 2014 Canada World Cup qualifiers not because we could not raise the 200 million UGX for the game against Ghana but it did not make technical and business sense to spend 200 million UGX for 180 games with 22 girls involved. After spending over 120 million UGX for the South Sudan game with barely 2 weeks in office, the return leg fetched 600,000 UGX in gate collections. We believe this money can be spent better.

Until we make the women football more commercially appealing to the fans and consequently the corporate world, we rather utilise the resources we have on activities that will provide more minutes and more girls more chances to play the game as it takes root. The line-up of activities in the same period of time did not also favour the cash flow issues. It is not even the first time this particular scenario is happening in the recent times. We need a long term solutions

CECAFA and CHAN are development competitions and not an end in itself. Our objective for CECAFA and CHAN is to add miles to the legs of many players and widen the pool. It is not winning the respective competitions. We took 16 locally based players, 1 not attached and 3 foreign based players. All these 20 players have potential for the 2015 AFCON qualifiers starting in September 2015. We have so far achieved our objective for CECAFA with after a closer look at Aucho and Dan Serunkuma provided more options for the coach than before. Baba Kizito, Okwi, Diego Hamis and Walusimbi played in the 2011 U-23 All Africa games and none of them has 10 caps in the AFCON/WC Qualifiers.

We had the option of including Odongkara and Isinde who have a total of 6 caps in the AFCON/WC Qualifiers but are deemed experienced in Uganda. We had 8 starters at CECAFA who have never featured in CECEFA before. Won 3 games drew 1 out of the 4 games, scored 7 goals conceded only 2 in a tournament where only Burundi, Ethiopia and Uganda took Development teams

Uganda has no divine right to win 5 out of 6 previous CECAFA Competitions. Football Development includes both identification and nurturing. Why do we need to continue identifying when we are not developing those identified? How developed are players who have less than 10 caps? How long did it take Ibrahim Sekagya and David Obua to perfect their trade? How were they performing when they had similar caps like these lads? Do you forget a few years ago the nation came down with absence on one player which is no longer the case now?
We are on right path and we shall not be detracted as we prepare for the 2015 AFCON qualifiers and 2018 World Cup Qualifiers but my direction is long term technical development for competitions where I may not necessarily be the President of FUFA

Finance:
In my manifesto, I was very clear that I will open more streams of revenue and prudently spend to effectively utilise the little available resources. We have since passed a Finance Manual with standards of payments for the various allowances and entitlements. The standard figures in this manual are the exact payments made previously and no reduction has been anywhere. I also emphasized in my manifesto that despite my direction being development, we shall maintain or even better the Uganda Cranes Remunerations.

Uganda Cranes players were paid their dues for CECAFA as the case has been in the past. It was not 25,000 UGX per day as earlier reported by the same persons who breed trouble where there is none. It is however fashionable these days to lie in reputable newspapers and the editorial continue to upload stories proven as lies. It is a calculated agenda to create anarchy where there is none. The dark forces and their agents against football that had gone on vacation are back to haunt and halt the fast reforms and development efforts. Our weapon has always been truth again propaganda and lies. We shall once again prove them wrong.
FUFA is the only Federation in the Region and Africa at large that pays players allowances. Elsewhere it is government. Comparison is made with other countries where the players sign the Ministry of Finance Vouchers? As FUFA we paid what has always been paid to the players for CECAFA probably the unfortunate incident is that we did not win the prize money which they normally share a percentage at the end of the tournament

Generally FUFA is in a very stable financial state. We have been able to undertake all our obligations. We are up-to-date with Staff payments. We continue to meet our obligations for the Head coach on time. This is however done at the expense of development programmes and we continue to appeal to government to just check on the neighbourhood what the practise is. Why is it only Uganda that the Football Association pays the technical team and taxes on all times salaries inclusive but we continue to ridicule the persons making that possible on top of being the top football nation in the region? How ironical?
We have run down the outstanding amounts to 75% in the last 3 months in our policy of 3:1. Pay 3 UGX to existing creditors and acquire on credit works goods and services for 1 UGX
As we speak about the players allowances, we have CHAN coming in a few days which is fully financed by FUFA. We have to undertake Pre Competition Medical, Training Camps in Uganda and South Africa, Salaries and Allowances, Equipment, Air tickets and this will not cost less than 300 million UGX. Whereas the Airtel deal brings to FUFA 950 million UGX, the Uganda Cranes Annual budget is over 2.5 billion UGX. We are proud to be sponsored by Airtel, the biggest sports sponsorship that this country has seen. We shall continue to prudently utilise the resources available. Those attempting to ridicule the sponsorship have the same hidden motives and are living in denial.

There is also the cheap talk going on that I must explain. No individual irrespective of how much money he holds can finance football. It is actually criminal in the football developed world to spend personal monies into football. SC Villa and Express are suffering exactly the same problem where the expectation is attracting a rich man to spend personal money into football. The economic times are changing and it will only get harder. Football is supposed to generate its own income to run its activities. The government finances the national teams, the Football Association undertakes development expenses while the clubs make a commercial appeal to fans to finance their activities.

I have heard stories of Magogo not having the money to finance FUFA activities. When did I say I have it? I have the ability to finance my personal activities and I have always and will continue to live a very comfortable personal life on top of financing a football club with over 30 persons paid monthly from my private earnings

I offered my brains to generate football money and spend it prudently, to appeal to government to undertake its contribution and the talks are very promising and re-organise club football to make a commercial appeal to fans which will generate resources for the club football
Those advocating for rich men to run football from their personal pockets remember it is not sustainable and the end is always the same. You ought to wake up to the reality that football needs huge sums that no individual can provide. Those who have attempted for the passion of the game have been paid by ridiculed by the same dark forces. Have you ever wondered why those who leave never come back?
It is our game, it is our country

FUFA PRESIDENT
Eng. Moses Magogo

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