Is FUFA putting women's FIFA cash to good use?

Why? FIFA clearly understand the neglect and exploitation women's football lives with. Had it not made the stipulation, most associations would have passed over the women; including, very possibly, FUFA.

Hence it ruled that regarding the first two installments, "a minimum of 50% of released funds (was) to be allocated to women's football."

What Uganda got
That means that of initial sh1.9b given to FUFA, sh850m  had to be channeled to women's football. Was it?

The following is FUFA president Moses Magogo's explanation on how women's football would benefit. "The funds indeed were sent but they were for the purposes of the usual activities at FUFA. FIFA was very clear that they were sending the second and final installment this year. Meaning that until January of 2021 there will not be any funding coming through. And the objective of FIFA was that in the period of COVID, as the federation is struggling financially, 'can you get what you're entitled to'.

"There are very many obligations that come off that funding. Amongst others, include all other national teams that are not the Uganda Cranes because the government only helps us to finance the Uganda Cranes. And it is also true that these are the funds used to pay different service providers and individuals, including salaries."

Sounds clear, doesn't it? Well, perhaps not!

It could change everything
Last week FIFA released $1.5m or sh5.6b and again directed that a third of it was for the women. FIFA explained, "a universal solidarity grant of USD 1 million will be made available to all member associations, and an additional grant of USD 500,000 will be allocated specifically to women's football."

That means another sh1.9b should be headed to the women's game locally. Overall, therefore, Ugandan women's football was given sh3.75b by FIFA as their portion of the COVID-19 relief funds. Again, that is sh3.75b!

Imagine what that money can accomplish for the women's game if put to good use. Imagine what it could do for the two major women's leagues if FUFA chose to invest part of it there. Club and player welfare could be instantly improved. So could the image of the sport. With more investment the morale and competitiveness of women's football  would be raised and so would interest from new clubs. In summary, sh3.75b could spark a mini revolution in women's football.

What FUFA gets
Not that it's expected to happen because this is not the first time FIFA is giving fortunes to women's football in Uganda. According to FIFA Forward 1 funding cycle between 2016-2018, FUFA was entitled to FIFA support at the following levels.

• Up to USD 500,000 per year for each member association for running costs, based on incentives that encourage best practice.
• USD 750,000 per year for each member association for specific football projects such as new facilities and women's and youth football, based on the contract of objectives.
• Each confederation will receive USD 10 million per year for football projects.
• Zonal/regional associations will receive up to USD 1 million per year for youth and women's tournaments.
And we will also give extra support to members that need it for football equipment and travel for women's and youth teams, and to improve skills through internships and exchanges.
When FIFA Forward 2 came into force in January 2019, the annual entitlement of member associations increased by 20% with other areas witnessing an even greater increase in funding to, as FIFA put it, "reflect the increase in the member associations' entitlements and the needs for greater football development...".
Put differently, FUFA would receive $6,000,000 for the four-year cycle between 2019 and 2022 in the following format.
a)  Up to USD 1,000,000 per year for operational/running costs:
i)  USD 500,000 released in January each year for day-to-day activities, administration and running costs.
ii)  Up to USD 500,000 paid in July each year, provided that the member association fulfils up to ten specific activities during the year (USD 50,000 per activity).

These activities include:
(1)   organising men's, women's and youth competitions (two age groups for both girls and boys) - each competition should involve at least ten clubs for at least 90 matches and for at least six months each year;
(2)   having active men's, women's and youth national teams - each one participating in at least four matches per year;
(3)   having a functioning and regularly updated IT player registration and competition management system (provided free of charge by FIFA if needed); and
(4)   having men's and women's refereeing programmes.
b)   USD 2,000,000 over the period of the whole 2019-2022 cycle for projects tailored according to the member association's approved contract of agreed objectives, and in particular relating to football infrastructure (e.g. pitches, technical centres, training grounds, stadiums and headquarters)
i) Projects may include other development areas provided that the member association has at least one stadium/pitch allowing international matches to be played, suitable association headquarters, and a functioning technical centre.
c)  Up to USD 200,000 per year for travel and accommodation, and up to USD 200,000 per four-year cycle for football equipment for those member associations needing the most assistance.

i) A member association is identified as needing the most assistance provided that its annual revenue does not exceed USD 4 million (reflected in the annual statutory audit report of the previous year and submitted to FIFA by 30 June each year).

In addition, FUFA would also be able to access part of $1m funding for zonal and regional associations as well as the $12m annual CAF package. Furthermore, FIFA president Gianni Infantino pledged a $1b investment in women's football in the current four-year cycle that will see more money invested in women's football than ever before.

How clubs could benefit
The challenge, as mentioned earlier, is FUFA's historical inability to demonstrate the expected link between funding and results. In other words, all the talk about the aforementioned sh3.75b that has the potential to transform women's football will probably end up being just talk.

The top two women's football leagues in the country comprise 24 teams, meaning that FUFA could easily invest a billion shillings of the COVID relief money as direct funding to the clubs. Equally divided between the two tiers, such an investment would see the eight clubs in topflight Women's Super League receive sh62.5m apiece and the Women's Elite league bagging 31.2m each. Such a move would provide proof of FUFA's commitment to women's football, which abounds in words.

Needless to add, the clubs understand what that kind of money could do for them, especially at this hard time. Gafford Ladies founder Henry Barungi believes that money can "help the clubs, players to get through this difficult situation. If we get money we could also use it support some our players who may fail to go back to school."

For UCU Lady Cardinals top official Sam Lukaire, if this money were channeled to women's clubs it would be "a big boost. It would convince the university to continue investing in sports."

Kawempe Muslim coach Ayub Khalifah explained, "The money would help a lot. No one was prepared for this Covid-19 period. Even those that we think are rich have also been affected with this situation. So if this money comes it will a play a big role in helping the team."

Lady Doves PR Godfrey Nsigwire added, "One of our obligations as the club is to honour the contracts of the players by paying them salaries. This relief will help us on salary, transport and accommodation of the team especially when we resume preparations for next season. It will also help us to reduce on the budget we use".

The problem
Local women's club football is replete with school teams, attracting players for scholarships more than any designs towards a semi or professional football career. For academic institutions with women's football clubs like Olila Girls and Kawempe Muslim, the goal is equally not to groom professional footballers but a holistic student. For such institutions, the professional ambitions of the game are of secondary importance and so is agitating for their entitlements from FIFA.

Such an attitude is conducive to exploitation and many observers are convinced FUFA should have done much more for women's football over the last five years with FIFA funding. What the Sseninde Women's Development Cup has achieved in the past four years on a much smaller budget underscores this fact.

FIFA funding for women's football worldwide is only set to increase over the next three years but at this point it's fair to say Uganda's problem is not really financial.