Drum is a great idea that has been abused

It's a great idea. Soccer governing body FUFA has introduced a grassroots competition which by all measures should be well intentioned.

The FUFA Inter Provinces Competition, named The Drum, was recently launched following a resolution of the FUFA assembly.

Featuring a total 16 provinces based on the country's respective tribes, the competition was fully embraced on the understanding that it was aimed at talent identification.

This was supposed to be an improved version of the Inter Regions tournament that FUFA president Moses Magogo's predecessor Lawrence Mulindwa introduced.

The competition kicked off on Saturday with Bugisu beating Busoga at Kyabazinga stadium, Bugembe.

With our soccer still lacking in a number of aspects, such interventions are critical in addressing issues like the striking crisis.

But as it turns out, there are question marks in execution of the idea. Why are organisers insisting on using Super League players?

Since the main idea is talent identification, why involve already exposed talent? Competitions like the Masaza Cup have gone a long way in talent identification because of their strict none involvement of elite league players.

That the number of players that FUFA can demand for from any of these top league clubs is also open, further complicates the issue.

Clubs that have openly resisted the manner in which the Drum is being executed would probably be more supportive if they were each required to avail a limited number of say two players.

The other issue is the competition's timing. Super League teams are already strained by a busy schedule involving not only the league, but also Uganda Cup.

Clubs like KCCA have even more onto themselves in a more demanding continental schedule.

Now that FUFA is bent on ensuring that elite league players feature in the Drum, wouldn't it have been better if say the competition was lined up in one of the season's main breaks?

It would also be interesting to know if FUFA covers players insurance.

A classic case is Vipers' player Halid Lwalira who was in May  last season injured in FUFA's Cranes Na Mutima outings and the burden of his treatment has to date been left to his club.

All these issues probably wouldn't be arising if all stakeholders had been involved in the rules and regulation drawing process.

The competition's guidelines were simply imposed on the clubs. Matters are not helped by FUFA's institution of harsh punitive measures for none compliant players and clubs.

True, by insisting on the participation of top tier players FUFA is eyeing a short cut to hefty gate collections and ultimately sponsors.

But competitions like the immensely popular Masaza Cups in Buganda and Bunyoro have proved that even without super league players you can attract big crowds?

Finally, players are a property of the clubs. Clubs for this very reason therefore deserve some respect in ventures involving their employees.