Sekagya faces ban

Oct 11, 2006

STATE Sports Minister Charles Bakkabulindi wants Cranes captain Ibrahim Sekagya punished for failing to turn up for the Niger-Uganda match in Niamey.

By Swalley Kenyi

STATE Sports Minister Charles Bakkabulindi wants Cranes captain Ibrahim Sekagya punished for failing to turn up for the Niger-Uganda match in Niamey.

The minister praised the national soccer team after their 0-0 draw in the 2008 Nations Cup qualifiers, but asked that discipline be stressed if Cranes are to succeed. Argentina-based defender Sekagya (inset) claimed he missed his flight.

“This is not the first time. It happened when the team went to Ghana last year,” Bakkabulindi charged. The minister was chief guest at a reception at Regency Hotel.

He cautioned FUFA against mixing football with politics. “We should speak a football language and FUFA should be careful of politicians inciting them against government,” he warned.

Government was criticised for delaying to secure return air-tickets for the team. Government finally delivered sh100m, a day after tycoon Michael Ezra had given the team 22 air-tickets worth sh60m.

The minister promised that government will join FUFA to seek corporate sponsors for Cranes.

“FUFA has to come and we sit to plan for Nigeria early enough. We shall join them in soliciting for sponsors among our friends in the private sector.”

While Uganda will miss Geoffrey Massa for the next game, Super Eagles will also be without striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni following a back-to-back yellow card he picked up in the games against Niger and Lesotho.

Aiyegbeni was Super Eagles saviour in Sunday’s Nations Cup qualifier against the Crocodiles of Lesotho, when he rifled home a cross by Christian Obodo. He picked a second caution which meant suspension in the next game against Uganda March 24.

Ugandan football legends Philip Omondi, Majid Musisi and Polly Ouma are on a shortlist of 200 names from which the best 50 players ever produced by the continent will be picked, adds Norman Katende.

The names are to be selected to mark the 50th anniversary of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF).

Omondi’s top-scoring exploits during the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, propelled Uganda to the final. Polly Ouma was the country’s best player in the early 70s while Musisi was the first Ugandan to play professional football in Europe.

Voting will be done by fans sending e-mails to caf50@cafonline.com before November 15, 2006.

Fans have been urged to explain their voting.

Kenyans Tobias Ochola and Peter Dawo, Ethiopians Luciano Vassalo and Menguistu Worku, are the only other players from CECAFA.

Nestroy Kizito failed to fly back to Serbia after FUFA CEO Charles Masembe could not be traced to confirm his flight yesterday. His mobile phone was off.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});