Crisis!

By Daniel SaireDO not be surprised if Nile Breweries terminate their sponsorship of the Nile Special Super League today.FUFA president Denis Obua himself fears Nile will pull the plug at what would be their last weekly press conference at Lugogo this afternoon.Nile Breweries and oil company Shell have sent ripples in local football with their threat to stop sponsoring the league. Co-sponsors MTN, BAT and Coca-Cola last week quit, walking off with sh102m, leaving FUFA with sh170m. Obua said Nile’s attitude to his approaches have been negative and he is worried.“We have been talking to (Nile’s David) Nsiyona and I can tell you their decision today may not be in our favour,” he said.He blamed the crisis on some people, he said were out to fail his administration. “These people have influenced the companies to withdraw their sponsorship but they are not hurting me as a person but Ugandan football,” he said.Sports minister Okello Oryem yesterday urged Obua and his secretary Haruna Mawanda to plead with the two companies.“We met a top official of Shell and expressed our satisfaction for their previous support to football and also talked about this unfortunate situation,” Obua said.Nsiyona on Sunday issued a damning press release. “The withdrawal of our partners highlights the crisis in which Ugandan football finds itself.”“Controversy rages daily, accusations and counter-accusations involving FUFA, crisis meetings between national and club leadership, on-going questions over league rules, threats by some clubs to refuse sponsor kits and others pleading poverty,” Nsiyona, a brand manager at Nile, said.ends