Minister’s View On Football Was Wrong
Aug 03, 2003
SOCCER, or football, to give its more conservative label, is undisputably the world’s most popular game.
Soccer, or football, to give its more conservative label, is undisputably the world’s most popular game. That is why when one mentions the words “World Cup†one is automatically deemed to be referring to the soccer world Cup staged once every four years, and yet several other world cups in different sports disciplines, are staged at various intervals.
It is not strange, therefore, that soccer is the most popular game in Uganda and has consequently the biggest number of participants. Interestingly, although soccer is the top money-generating sport in Uganda, or indeed anywhere in the world, the biggest problem the sport faces locally is that there are never sufficient funds to comfortably run the game at each and every level. The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) which is soccer’s governing body in the country, and the scores of soccer clubs, as well as the professional associations catering for referees, coaches, etcetra, are all constantly broke.
Unfortunately, the misconception regarding that state of affairs is that the money would have been there in substantial sums if it was not ‘eaten’ by the administrators at both national and club levels. The misconception emanates from the manner in which the critics of FUFA and other soccer bodies maintain a single column account showing income and ignoring the expenditure column.
Here is a simple illustration of the point I am making. If at an international match involving the Cranes is played in Nakivubo stadium or Namboole stadium, the public is interested in the total gate collection, which might amount to say sh100m. They are not interested in the expenditure which has to be met from that sh100m. They do not know that FUFA has to pay the hotel bill for 18 players. In addition to that expenditure, FUFA will have maintained the Cranes team in residential training for two or three weeks or even more.
All those expenses have to be deducted from the sh100m gate collection, which has also to be reduced by deduction for VAT, the stadium dues, and a percentage that has to be remitted to CAF.
Anybody with an accounting mind would straight away realise that by the time you go through that accounting exercise, in fact before you even complete the exercise, the account is in red. The problem is that not many Ugandans have an accounting mind.
That being the status quo, Uganda football whether at National or club level, has to be financially subsidised through sponsorship by companies, organisations, and individuals. Companies like Nile Breweries which sponsors the Nile Special Super League, and Property masters who recently introduced a twist in the hunt for league goals with an offer of sh50,000 for every goal scored, are making a commendable contribution to the development of football in this country.
It is against that backdrop that I have no hesitation in objecting to the statement by the minister of state for Sports, Mr. Henry Okello Oryem that supporting FUFA financially is a waste of money.
If the minister had expected a miracle simply because the government provided sh100m to the Cranes in respect of the matches against Rwanda and Ghana, he was gravely mistaken. In fact, in my humble submission, with due respect to the minister, the sum of sh100m he managed to milk for the Cranes, was too little, availed too late.
In any case, by suggesting that FUFA is not worth any financial support, the minister is sending the wrong signals to current sponsors and others who would sooner or later jump on to the bandwagon. What will individuals like SC Villa’s Mugabe or Express Kirumira, think of their monetary contribution towards their clubs, if the verdict of the Minister’s attitude is that investing in soccer is a waste of money?
In any case, the idea of disbanding the Cranes is at best a hypothetical suggestion. The Cranes squad is summoned by the FUFA technical committee and the Cranes coach judging by the performance of any eligible player anywhere in the world. There does not exist a permanent Cranes squad from which the national team is automatically picked. In my submission, therefore, there is no cranes outfit to disband. What the minister should be advising FUFA is to nurse carefully the junior national under 23 and under 20 teams.
But that is a costly exercise which needs money. However if Government demands results in soccer, it must be prepared to invest in FUFA and its development activities. After all, he who calls the tune must pay the piper.
Ends
It is not strange, therefore, that soccer is the most popular game in Uganda and has consequently the biggest number of participants. Interestingly, although soccer is the top money-generating sport in Uganda, or indeed anywhere in the world, the biggest problem the sport faces locally is that there are never sufficient funds to comfortably run the game at each and every level. The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) which is soccer’s governing body in the country, and the scores of soccer clubs, as well as the professional associations catering for referees, coaches, etcetra, are all constantly broke.
Unfortunately, the misconception regarding that state of affairs is that the money would have been there in substantial sums if it was not ‘eaten’ by the administrators at both national and club levels. The misconception emanates from the manner in which the critics of FUFA and other soccer bodies maintain a single column account showing income and ignoring the expenditure column.
Here is a simple illustration of the point I am making. If at an international match involving the Cranes is played in Nakivubo stadium or Namboole stadium, the public is interested in the total gate collection, which might amount to say sh100m. They are not interested in the expenditure which has to be met from that sh100m. They do not know that FUFA has to pay the hotel bill for 18 players. In addition to that expenditure, FUFA will have maintained the Cranes team in residential training for two or three weeks or even more.
All those expenses have to be deducted from the sh100m gate collection, which has also to be reduced by deduction for VAT, the stadium dues, and a percentage that has to be remitted to CAF.
Anybody with an accounting mind would straight away realise that by the time you go through that accounting exercise, in fact before you even complete the exercise, the account is in red. The problem is that not many Ugandans have an accounting mind.
That being the status quo, Uganda football whether at National or club level, has to be financially subsidised through sponsorship by companies, organisations, and individuals. Companies like Nile Breweries which sponsors the Nile Special Super League, and Property masters who recently introduced a twist in the hunt for league goals with an offer of sh50,000 for every goal scored, are making a commendable contribution to the development of football in this country.
It is against that backdrop that I have no hesitation in objecting to the statement by the minister of state for Sports, Mr. Henry Okello Oryem that supporting FUFA financially is a waste of money.
If the minister had expected a miracle simply because the government provided sh100m to the Cranes in respect of the matches against Rwanda and Ghana, he was gravely mistaken. In fact, in my humble submission, with due respect to the minister, the sum of sh100m he managed to milk for the Cranes, was too little, availed too late.
In any case, by suggesting that FUFA is not worth any financial support, the minister is sending the wrong signals to current sponsors and others who would sooner or later jump on to the bandwagon. What will individuals like SC Villa’s Mugabe or Express Kirumira, think of their monetary contribution towards their clubs, if the verdict of the Minister’s attitude is that investing in soccer is a waste of money?
In any case, the idea of disbanding the Cranes is at best a hypothetical suggestion. The Cranes squad is summoned by the FUFA technical committee and the Cranes coach judging by the performance of any eligible player anywhere in the world. There does not exist a permanent Cranes squad from which the national team is automatically picked. In my submission, therefore, there is no cranes outfit to disband. What the minister should be advising FUFA is to nurse carefully the junior national under 23 and under 20 teams.
But that is a costly exercise which needs money. However if Government demands results in soccer, it must be prepared to invest in FUFA and its development activities. After all, he who calls the tune must pay the piper.
Ends