Football agents monitor Ugandan players

Jan 20, 2017

Established agents from top European clubs have descended on the oil-rich country with hope of identifying potential talent

Total Africa Nations Cup
Wednesday
Uganda v Mali
 
Cranes' Nations Cup adventure in Gabon could earn Ugandan footballers a chance to make a breakthrough into some of the prominent European leagues.

Established agents from top European clubs have descended on the oil-rich country with hope of identifying potential talent among the 16 countries taking part in the championship.

Liverpool is reported to have sent scouts to monitor Ivorian Franck Kessie while some also attached to particular European clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham have also been seen taking notes at the match venues in Libreville and Port-Gentil.

"The fashionable business in football at the moment is buying and selling players. Most of the scouts here are from France because its big business there," pointed Diallo, a Guinea journalist, based in Netherlands.

Cranes is among the teams that has attracted interest here. Their thrilling second half display against Ghana is still the subject of discussion.

 Former Cameroon legend Roger Milla watched the game on television back at his Le Meridien Hotel, and was more than pleased with the attacking quality within the team's ranks.

"I watched Uganda playing. They are a really good team. They are solid in midfield but just need to be able to create chances," stated Roger Milla.

Cranes midfielder Geoffrey Kizito earned rave reviews for his industrious play against the Black Stars.

He read the game so well. His passing was consistently good, and had terrific stamina.

"Uganda must have plenty of football talent. Do you have good football academies to develop these players?" Al Jazeera journalist Andrew Richardson asked.

Cranes are also drawing interest due to their CAF Team of the Year award.

The Nations Cup has over the years presented players with breakthroughs and the situation will not be any different for Cranes stars especially those with contracts that are running out in June.

"It's an exceptionally high quality tournament and there are some great, great players there," former Reading director of football Nicky Hammond said of the tournament eight years ago.

"Over the last few years, Africa has really come to the forefront of producing some top, top players, so for us it is a very good tournament to cover," he added.

Geoffrey Massa, midfielders Khalid Aucho, Tony Mawejje, Moses Oloya and defenders Isaac Isinde and Murushid Juuko are among Cranes players that will seek out opportunities with potential suitors.
 
Poor goals ratio

However, the one disappointment so far is that the tournament is experiencing a goal drought due to a combination of various reasons.

While teams have been accused of being too cautious and lacking quality in the final third of the pitch, others argue that the poor pitches in Oyem and Port-Gentil have not helped matters.

In the 12 matches played so far, only 22 goals have been scored with joint top scorers Riyad Mahrez, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane all tied at two goals each.

Four of the first six matches at the tournament ended in draws with some pundits attributing the damning statistics to the fact that teams are more organized and well-drilled defensively.

The 22 goals scored as of Friday after three rounds of matches, are almost the same number netted in the 2008 finals in Ghana, where teams set up to attack, scoring 26 goals in just the opening round of group games.

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