Watson can serve better as FUFA CEO

Mar 08, 2009

EDGAR Watson’s application for the post of FUFA Chief Executive Officer seems to have got most people by surprise. I gather that the federation’s boss Lawrence Mulindwa also felt the FUFA technical director would best serve in his current portfolio.

I SAY SO - James Bakama

EDGAR Watson’s application for the post of FUFA Chief Executive Officer seems to have got most people by surprise. I gather that the federation’s boss Lawrence Mulindwa also felt the FUFA technical director would best serve in his current portfolio.

To the contrary, I am of the view that Watson is playing the right card. To put it more plainly, I actually strongly believe that Watson was in the first place never qualified for the technical director’s job.

True, he was former national team captain and a trained coach besides topping the job’s interviews.
But not even all that masked his limitations in experience. He was simply too junior for the job.

A technical director is supposed to tune the football pulse of a country. He has to evaluate, modify, and implement player development and coaching programmes. That’s too big a task for a person who has never even coached a club.

No wonder giants prefer personalities of distinctive stature like Franz Beckenbauer, Johann Cruyff or Michael Platini for this post.
If Ugandan coaches can’t measure up to such calibre, then FUFA should outsource.

Watson must have realised the bitter realities of the technical director’s assignment. So, the CEO vacancy indeed presented itself like manna from heaven. Trends further played in his favour with a five month offer to serve as acting CEO.

I am one of those who back his move. The CEO’s job requires someone who is alert, vibrant, organised and abreast with international football trends. I see all those qualities in Watson.

Watson and fellow CEO job contestants Godfrey Mugisha and Catherine Adipo surely also can’t fail to interprete basic data like qualification tables.

Even more important, is the fact that it’s their class-mates, who are now in charge of corporates from which FUFA is supposed to attract sponsorship. I wish them all luck and may the best candidate take the job.

jbakama@newvision.co.ug

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