Muhammad Shaban cleared to play for Onduparaka

Onduparaka captain, Muhammad Shaban has been cleared to play in the Uganda Cup finals against Vipers on Saturday at Nakivubo Stadium.

Vipers SC had petitioned FUFA asking them to block the striker from featuring in the finals, claiming that he was contracted to them.

FUFA Statement:

The "employment contract" as signed on 11th June 2015 and submitted for the first time to FUFA along with your protest, contravenes the regulations as highlighted below;

Bearing the player's birth date and the date of signing of the said "employment contract" 11th June 2015, the player was a minor as defined by Article 2(21) Minor: A player who has not yet reached the age of 18. This renders the said "employment contract" null and void.

Article 10 of the same regulations stipulates that application for a professional player must be submitted together with a copy of a contract. FUFA did not receive any contract for the above player (either a youth agreement for minors) at the time of registration of the same player in your (U-17) side.

The FUFA Secretariat records show that Muhammad Shaban was registered with Onduparaka FC in Fourth Division League of Arua District Football Association in 2013/14 season at age of 15 then. When the club was promoted, the same player featured in the 2014/15 West Nile Regional League and 2015/16 2nd division/FUFA Big League in which Onduparaka FC competed and consequently moved up the ranks to the 1st division/Uganda Premier League.

The status and eligibility of the player can therefore be confirmed under Onduparaka FC and it is at their discretion to use the player in any FUFA organized competition including the 2015/16 Uganda Cup final on 18th June 2016.