Cost of passion: How Reuben Mubiru fought to keep Kyetume alive

Fred Mwambu sat with Mubiru to talk about the murky waters that the team navigated before succumbing.

Seven years in the national divisions – what has your experience been like?

A lot. Ups and downs; Joy and sadness; and some good experiences and lessons picked.

Well, let’s start with the lessons.

First of all football in Uganda has been monopolised. Those who control it have their agenda because you cannot know the direction of football in Uganda. This can only be determined by a few who are at the helm.

The majority of the factors are played by the organisers of the league and the federation. That's where we see that people have the authority and can determine the direction of every team. Whether you are strong, have passion for the game or ambitious, you can’t go far without them.

One thing I learnt is that people in authority own everything, even what you have.

Are you suggesting that Kyetume was targeted for relegation?

When you see Kyetume or any other teams relegated, many factors come into play. And that’s not to say that we’re immune to relegation, No, relegation and promotion is part of the game but how that happens matters a lot. It must be on the field of play.

Could you elaborate on that point?

You see, football is managed with a very difficult syndicate to beat and penetrate. So, if you are in football and don’t belong or subscribe to that syndicate, you cannot survive. That’s why you can be a club like Kyetume playing at the top for seven years, producing and developing talent but fail to sell any single player.

Do you have some examples of that?

I have a player who is in Vipers right now but won’t mention names for some reasons. I nurtured him right from his childhood when he started playing in lower leagues but was stolen without us realizing a single cent. Other examples are in Bul where we made a concession with the player, his manager and Bul but it wasn’t fulfilled.

Clubs like Kyetume depend on such players to bring in some money so what it means is that we have invested heavily but lost and the other in a bigger team has gained without investing. Now how will a small club like Kyetume survive if it’s not reaping from its own products?

Who is to blame in such circumstances?

This [chaos] is nurtured and managed by the federation’s system because if a big club wants a player, they’ll part with very little money and connive with the player and steal him through the Players Status Committee. We used to hear big clubs buying players from smaller teams in those golden days, do you still hear of it recently? And I mean buying with good money like it’s happening in other leagues.

You have had issues with players as well, tell us about it.

Our players also have problems. They lack vision and professionalism. They arrive when bubbling but then get too comfortable and eventually lose track. At some point most of them don’t give what you expect but keep demanding a lot until they eventually get compromised. You go for a game and watch the kind of goals you concede and really wonder.

On that point, Kyetume has been accused of match-fixing, particularly in the 7-1 loss to Onduparaka in 2019. What's your take on that?

Firstly, I have to admit that Onduparaka was our bogey team.

Away from that game, I have to talk generally about the issue of match-fixing; this problem doesn’t start and stop with only one party, it is a racket. On our part, we tried to fight the vice because we previously publicly suspended players whom we suspected of fixing matches. For instance, there are some we suspended but I saw them being called to the Uganda Cranes while on suspension. I didn’t watch that particular game but my CEO Emmanuel Musinguzi saw some fishy activity and decided to suspend them.

The federation did not ask the club to explain the circumstances but just awarded them a bonus by summoning them to the national team.

You attend Fufa and UPL meetings, have you raised such complaints?

Something else I learnt is that when you go to those meetings organized by the federation, you need to keep quiet. You go and listen to the big man talking but if you try to talk, they’ll hunt you through the officiating, licensing system and if you’re resilient, they’ll release your players and take them away or the worst: brand you that you fix games without evidence. Such things will break you eventually.

Are there other issues?

The people you associate with and work with also matter to them. For instance, we tried to work with Mujib [Kasule] because of his exposure, credentials and history of successfully operating an academy but when you work with him, it is a problem. I was asked to dissociate from him but I refused because this is someone I worked with before entering football and know how much he can help my club grow. So, that also rubbed the powers the wrong way and caused us some problems.

Given these challenges, should we expect Kyetume to bounce back?

Kyetume has been here since before I was born, so the club will be there. If Mbale Heroes returned after 19 years (17 years to be exact), Kyetume can also do it. It has happened before. But personally, I cannot promise anything about the future of the club but the club is a brand for the community and it can only talk for itself.

Talking about the community in Kyetume, what is their contribution to the club?

It may not be much monetarily but they give invaluable moral support. They play a very big part in identifying players and coaches around Mukono. So, that helps maintain the heritage of the place which is important in garnering financial support from people who are well off in the surroundings.

Why did Kyetume fail to establish a stable homeground despite this support?

That’s one of our shortcomings, we admit but it’s more or less a general problem affecting even rich clubs like URA. That said, when we were promoted, our facility didn’t meet the minimum standards. It was tough balancing finances between improving the stadium and keeping the team afloat. However, we have established one at Nakisunga and I believe we shall stabilize.

Which is more expensive between the Uganda Premier and Big League?

The Big League is a lower league which is very wide but lacks substantial support.

How much does it cost to run a full season?

To honour a single match against Calvary [in Yumbe], you’ll spend a minimum of shs5m for only transport and facilitating the team there. Now you have Midigo, Nwoya, Kigezi, Ibanda, Masindi, Lira and Mbale twice, all taking that amount and above. This figure is besides the players’ allowances, training and salaries. Each day in training costs a minimum of shs400, 000; that is shs10, 000 for the players, shs30, 000 for the three coaches per day and transport without lunch. That brings it to shs8m in a month for the five days they train and about shs100m in a season. So, averagely for a lower-budget club like Kyetume to manage, I need about shs.450m per season in the Big League.

How much did you earn from shirt sponsorships?

Our biggest was Melbet who gave us Shs130m per season. They gave that because they were sharing the space with Roseform who were giving us Shs60m in addition to some support for infrastructure development, both valued around Shs220m. However, most of the sponsorship was from our own pockets.

Doesn’t the federation and its sponsors put in some money?

Not very much, surely. For example we didn’t get any money from the federation in the 2022/23 season and got shs19m last season. They promised to give shs30m sometime back but we didn’t receive anything, only to find the shs19m in the account without any follow-up. But I also think the government can come up with some grants to support football in the grassroots and leagues.

How should the government intervene?

First, they need to understand how the people benefit from football. If they do that, they’ll go into administration and develop indicators. Some of the indicators include the federation getting serious sponsorships for the league and not the national team that is already receiving funds from the government.

There was a time when the government put a quarantine to stop fishing from L.Victoria and used soldiers to effect it. That helped the fish to grow and multiply to benefit the country in the long run. This is what we need because football has been captured by a few fishmongers and have become very rich at the expense of the game. Football has a very big potential to generate its own money but it is going into the pockets of a few.

Maybe the government should call us the stakeholders and explain how this is done and how we feel it should be stopped.

Don’t you think the National Sports Law is a solution?

The problem with the law is the lack of consultation and its origin. The other issue is: who fronted it? If it is Engineer [Magogo] who is in the management and has vested interests, would he bring out a fair law for all? Do you really think he would?

Does it matter who brought it?

I don’t mean to undermine the law but I feel they didn’t do enough groundwork to approach the people who have invested in it, former and current athletes and the grassroots stakeholders. After enacting it, has there been enough sensitization for everyone or at least the majority to understand it.

There’s the other issue that we make very fantastic laws but the implementation is where the problem lies.

The clubs including Kyetume vote for the leadership, can’t you hold them accountable through the ballot?

I explained earlier that it is abominable to question the authorities. About voting, seriously, do you want me to reply to that?

For example, just be honest, do you really think that the elections that are going to take place [next year] will be a representation of what football wants in order to grow? And by the way, the national teams doing well is not a sign of growth, how the clubs down there are performing is.

The Fufa president says that they’re doing much to support the clubs, aren’t they?

First of all, you realise that the league had less teams but they’ve insisted on relegating four. What they want is to bring new teams whose owners are naïve and easily controllable.

Kyetume had a chance to vote for the Fufa third vice president who represents clubs, did you?

Unfortunately, I have never attended any AGM of the federation because they don’t invite me. Though I remember they asked us to go at one time but I couldn’t attend since I am a devoted Seventh Day Adventist. They normally want the chief executive officers who hardly help the clubs. We’re forced to have them but they don’t help much really.

Are the CEO courses not beneficial?

If you attend those courses, you will be disappointed. If we want to have impactful courses, then we must invest in research and studies that will help us generate good content that will help football in our own context. Otherwise, I cannot say that we benefited from the CEO courses.

Did you share these ideas with the federation for improvement?

It is impossible because they look at it differently. When I came into the Premier League, the first question I was asked on the sidelines was whether I have any aspirations for leadership. I was shocked but told them I didn’t harbour any interest and only came for football to help talent in my community and for therapeutic reasons. So if that was how they welcomed me, how do you share ideas with them?

Who asked you about your leadership aspirations?

I will reveal it on television one day. But I remember very well that there were several people in the room when I was asked. Then they told me that if indeed I came for football, I should stick to it and leave the wars but that wasn’t necessary because that isn’t the reason I came to football. It is from there that they told me to disassociate with Mujib as some sort of orientation.

Any final thoughts?

Football in Uganda requires government intervention. The government should call all the stakeholders that by and large include the clubs to deliberate on ways to improve the sports and make it a viable business like other sectors.

It’s good they’re trying to invest money but they should put in mechanisms to evaluate their input.

The government should come in and look into the activities of the association and audit its management.

Brief profile

Name - Reuben Mubiru

Home town - Kyetume

Profession - Social worker, public health educator and businessman

Roles – President of Kyetume FC, executive director - Kyetume Community Based Health Care  

Passion - Using football as a therapy, talent development and as livelihood to the girls and boys within Kyetume and larger Mukono district