Thank You, Senegal

SENEGAL is out of the World Cup now. The sombre mood in Kampala on Saturday evening after Turkey sent Africa packing said it all. The Lions of Teranga were Africa’s representatives in this orgy of skill and temperament on the pitch. But they went out with their heads high and no tears. For an African team to have come this far in the prestigious competition says volumes about the character and skill of the Senegalese team. It also tells much about how far football has come in Africa —in Senegal, Cameroon, S. Africa, Nigeria —that is.How far has the game gone in Uganda? Whether you are looking forward or backwards, our home game is in a sorry state. We are not much of a show in the Africa Cup competition and cannot therefore dream of cheering a Cranes team on the world scale in the near future. But we can draw useful lessons from those small African nations, which are now familiar names on the global soccer market.Lesson one, most of the Senegalese and Cameroonian players are (also) professionals on European teams. How do they get there? To be that level of talent which can compete on European soccer levels takes early and enormous organisation to tap players when they are young and give them adequate opportunity to develop. The only thing near this in Uganda is the Under-14 tournament and it is only for Kampala. The rest of the country remains unexplored. The National Coca Cola Post- Primary Schools football is only three months of competitive football in a year. For more than half the year, there is nothing countrywide or even by regions to draw out any talent, much less develop it. FUFA and the Ministry of Education and Sports need to get down to the drawing board and organise viable competitive football at these lower levels. Let the schools play as they used to do before. If funding is the worry, the example of Kampala Kids League can be an eye opener. As for our soccer clubs which have failed to reach the mark of visibility on the inter-continental scene, let their leaders stop placing club feelings above national team aspirations. To undermine the Cranes at a practice because of parochial club needs is to condemn Ugandans to cheering the Senegals for ever.Let the homework start. Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of World Cup.Ends