Uganda Cranes: Is football just about winning?

By Deo K. Tumusiime

I wish to register my name on the list of the very few Ugandans out there who have the humility to acknowledge the wonderful performance of our national team at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

Many Ugandans have faulted the team for its early exit from the tournament, but to do this is in my view astride the real gist of the game of Football. I do not think that Football should necessarily be just about winning games, but people ought to focus on and appreciate every other aspect that makes the game.

 I have heard some people blaming the coach and seeking his ouster; others are blaming the Football Federation Coach; others say some players should not have participated because they have exceeded their "sell by date"; others say that Ugandan players are paid too little compared to their counterparts in other countries.

All this in my view is absolute nonsense.

Football is played on the pitch, and no matter how well facilitated a team may be, every team gets to lose a game. Those who follow the famous European leagues will appreciate that no team is invincible. The same Ghana the beat Uganda and could have been said to be better than Uganda, was beaten by Egypt, the difference in both situations being a solitary goal. Ivory Coast the title holders have been ejected at the same stage as Uganda-can anyone say that because of this, Uganda and Ivory Coast are such bad teams? Does this make the two to be at same level? NO.

In my very personal view, I think Ugandans must be grateful to the national team for representing our country. This representation afforded the country free publicity even in European media, players earned themselves some money, the team sponsors earned mileage, and many of us enjoyed some entertainment.

Farouk Miya scored (against Mali) Uganda's only goal at the 2017 edition

There surely must be a host of other benefits arising from the Cranes participation. These MUST count, especially considering that at the end of the day, there can only be one winner and everybody else shall return to their respective countries trophy-less if they did not win the tournament. Yes, if you come second or third you may gain some financial rewards, but many of the exiting countries do not need CAF money to survive.

 I wish to turn now to the game of football itself and reflect on whether the Cranes performed well or so bad. Many will tend to focus on the two losses to Ghana and Egypt. Others might focus on the draw with Mali as some take home. Let us not miss the bigger picture.

For the Cranes to emerge out of the three games they played having conceded only 3 goals, tells something about the team's defense. But also defense can only be as good as the overall performance of the rest of the team.

I was satisfied with the skills exhibited by many of our players and they proved to me that Uganda's football has matured significantly to an extent that we can compete against any team on the continent. The cutting edge other teams had that saw us concede, is a matter of increased awareness in terms of skill, but could also be a question of good luck or psychological stability of a few players on the day. That aside, we must dissect every game we played and award ourselves marks for every corner, every pass, every move, every free kick, every throw in-these are the ingredients that make a game of football exciting to watch. To this level, the Ugandan Cranes was honestly on the mark and must be commended.

 We must desist from judging payers based on winning a game of football. True, winning is a feel good thing, but like I said earlier, there's always gonna be one winner. I also have seen situations where the best team on the balance of play loses a game with a last kick by the poor team. I have also seen a most expensive player commit a stupid mistake that costs his team dearly.

And well, if football were to be about winning trophies, then lots of teams in the Premier League which everyone believes can never win the league would never invest so much. But I see fans cheering harder and harder even when their teams are trailing.

 From me, it's kudos to Team Uganda Cranes for a job well done. It could take two decades to bring the trophy to Kampala, but the contribution of our boys cannot be underestimated at any cost. They must be commended and rewarded for the time and energy invested, all of which I believe they did in good national spirit.  This reminds me; that in every aspect of our work, whatever it is, we should learn to appreciate people for their contributions in life even if they do not necessarily "score goals".

If anything, what has every single Ugandan contributed to the Cranes to expect so much?

The writer is a communications consultant