By Swalley Kenyi
Events before Uganda Cranes heartbreaking failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations Finals cannot force Coach Bobby Williamson out of the job.
The 50-year-old Scot for the first time in his five year stay in Uganda lost his cool in public when a fan approached him in the middle of Mandela National Stadium pitch, Namboole, after the last whistle on Saturday and tried to console him about the devastating failure.
“Don’t say that. How do I justify the lots of money and support invested in the players?” he shouted out to the fan.
Asked whether he would resign after the Cranes second failure to qualify for the continental showpiece under his stewardess, Williamson said that: “no I will not. I love working for FUFA and I can’t resign.”
“I feel for everyone and I’m really sorry,” Williamson said after seeing his players Dennis Onyango, Brian Umony, substitute Mike Mutyaba, Nestroy Kizito, Geoffrey Massa and team captain Ibrahim Sekagya breakdown into tears after the match.
Williamson took up the Cranes job in 2008. He signed another three year contract in September 2010.
In a press release FUFA publicist Rogers Mulindwa issued yesterday, thanked everyone for supporting the Uganda Cranes.
“We cannot blame anybody for this aborted mission, not even ourselves, the technical bench, the government, the players…but God’s plan has no appeal” Mulindwa said.
Uganda was among Saturday’s biggest losers of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers. The other big shots shown the exits are Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Malawi. Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Libya, Niger, Ghana, Angola and Tunisia qualified.
Indeed the Cranes in the last week of the preparations suddenly got everybody’s extra-ordinary attention despite the cold shoulders they received earlier.
This yielded close to over sh600m offers in cash and pledges aimed at imploring the team to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nation to be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next January.
But events in the rundown to the match that climaxed with the dismissal of lanky winger David Obua for indiscipline were not coincidental.
To one top FUFA official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the comment, Uganda lost the 2012 campaign in Angola when their 2-0 loss sparked off division between home and foreign based.
The home based players, who made it to the squad pointed fingers at some senior professional players, who dodged the Cranes camp in Nairobi only to turn up the day the team left for Luanda. “Don’t say that. How do I justify the lots of money and support invested in the players?” he shouted out to the fan.
Asked whether he would resign after the Cranes second failure to qualify for the continental showpiece under his stewardess, Williamson said that: “no I will not. I love working for FUFA and I can’t resign.”
“I feel for everyone and I’m really sorry,” Williamson said after seeing his players Dennis Onyango, Brian Umony, substitute Mike Mutyaba, Nestroy Kizito, Geoffrey Massa and team captain Ibrahim Sekagya breakdown into tears after the match.
Williamson took up the Cranes job in 2008. He signed another three year contract in September 2010.
In a press release FUFA publicist Rogers Mulindwa issued yesterday, thanked everyone for supporting the Uganda Cranes.
“We cannot blame anybody for this aborted mission, not even ourselves, the technical bench, the government, the players…but God’s plan has no appeal” Mulindwa said.
Uganda was among Saturday’s biggest losers of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers. The other big shots shown the exit are Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Malawi. Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Libya, Niger, Ghana, Angola and Tunisia qualified.
Indeed the Cranes in the last week of the preparations suddenly got everybody’s extra-ordinary attention despite the cold shoulders they received earlier.
This yielded close to over sh600m offers in cash and pledges aimed at imploring the team to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nation to be held in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next January.
But events in the rundown to the match that climaxed with the dismissal of lanky winger David Obua for indiscipline were not coincidental.
To one top FUFA official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the comment, Uganda lost the 2012 campaign in Angola when their 2-0 loss sparked off division between home and foreign based.
The home based players, who made it to the squad pointed fingers at some senior professional players, who dodged the Cranes camp in Nairobi only to turn up the day the team left for Luanda. “Don’t say that. How do I justify the lots of money and support invested in the players?” he shouted out to the fan.
Asked whether he would resign after the Cranes second failure to qualify for the continental showpiece under his stewardess, Williamson said that: “no I will not. I love working for FUFA and I can’t resign.”
“I feel for everyone and I’m really sorry,” Williamson said after seeing his players Dennis Onyango, Brian Umony, substitute Mike Mutyaba, Nestroy Kizito, Geoffrey Massa and team captain Ibrahim Sekagya breakdown into tears after the match.
Williamson took up the Cranes job in 2008. He signed another three year contract in September 2010.
In a press release FUFA publicist Rogers Mulindwa issued yesterday, thanked everyone for supporting the Uganda Cranes.
“We cannot blame anybody for this aborted mission, not even ourselves, the technical bench, the government, the players…but God’s plan has no appeal” Mulindwa said.
Uganda was among Saturday’s biggest losers of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifiers. The other big shots shown the exit are Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Malawi. Mali, Guinea, Zambia, Libya, Niger, Ghana, Angola and Tunisia qualified.
