Busoga football clubs struggle to adopt online transfer system
FUFA President Eng Moses Magogo (2nd left) with some of the delegates from the 11 districts that constitute the Busoga sub-region during the FUFA executive countrywide tour of the Eastern region in Iganga District on Tuesday. PHOTO | PHILIP WAFULA
What you need to know:
- The Busoga Kingdom sports minister, Mr Amin Bossa, said a lot of issues were discussed during the meeting with FUFA executive, but the cardinal issue was the licensing system, which he said some people are not well-versed with.
Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) President, Eng Moses Magogo, has said his executive is going to make it simpler for clubs, districts, and regions to work online after learning that most of them are being bogged down by the licensing system.
The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Transfer Matching System (TMS) is an online platform for its member associations to record player transfers between clubs. Its introduction was approved by the FIFA Congress in 2009 and made mandatory from October 1, 2010.
However, over 50 delegates from the districts of Jinja, Bugiri, Bugweri, Buyende, Iganga, Kaliro, Kamuli, Luuka, Mayuge, Namayingo and Namutumba told the Eng Magogo-led FUFA executive that all isn’t rosy because of the TMS.
Eng Magogo said they are moving across the country to interact with stakeholders at the grassroots to understand what they are doing and going to bring but to also appreciate some of the challenges that they face.
“We realise that the biggest challenge is licensing online systems, equipment and the know-how of technology which has affected many districts and so many players,” Eng Magogo said in Iganga District on Tuesday.
“However, going forward, we are going to look into the matter as an executive and try to make it simpler for clubs, districts, and regions to work online,” he added.
The Busoga Kingdom sports minister, Mr Amin Bossa, said a lot of issues were discussed during the meeting with FUFA executive, but the cardinal issue was the licensing system, which he said some people are not well-versed with.
“At times, even when we take the licenses; you take 25 licenses and you receive 15 or 17, which hinders the progress of the clubs that are licensing those players,” he said.
This, he added, also affects the players because it is not until they get a license that they get playing time.
Ms Zaituni Mutesi, a national delegate from the Eastern region, said the biggest challenge in football is a “poor mindset”, adding that the way people look at football has changed.
“When they bring up issues regarding ‘system’, many people see it as something that is difficult to undertake yet when you read about it, everything becomes simplified. Most clubs and football administrators in the eastern region, however, lack the will,” she said.
“In most cases, when a player is entered in the system, he or she may take long to be approved yet the league has to start,” she noted.
Mr Webster Kula, the director of football at Buteme Sports Foundation, says although clubs aren’t well-conversant with online licensing, there is a lot of “backlog” at FUFA.
“Most licenses are pending due to ‘technicalities’ at FUFA, not the teams,” he said.
Ms Carolyn Birungi, a Uganda Women Football Association (UWFA) delegate, said some of the key challenges they raised were about equipment, but have been given a starting point, with Eng Magogo promising more balls with time.
