We’ve to wrestle back our rights from Fufa – Nyago

Maybe the meeting was rushed because of the secret one by the clubs?
If I said that, I would be speculating. I would only want to commit on what I am sure of.

Do you think UPL is doing their job right or are they serving Fufa’s interests?

I think UPL is doing their work, and they know their mandate. Prior to what is going on now, we approached UPL board, as
club chairmen, and said, we would like to request Fufa to consider a bailout for clubs, especially the players during this Covid-19 pandemic. The board wrote to Fufa, at least we saw them do that. I want to imagine that they are doing their work but I think club chairpersons are not quite satisfied with the way UPL is doing their work, and I think they have to come out and explain to us – this is what we have done, this is what we are left to do, and we are well on course, etc – and we think together. UPL board is supposed to be our link to the executive committee; they are meant to advocate for clubs. Now, if you are supposed to lobby for me, you are meant to sit with me, and know the facts about the case, so that you are going to represent me from an informed point of view. But they are not doing this. Even that bailout issue, they did not revert with an update. Then the ending of the league. Fufa was meant to come to us and inform, involve us. I mean, we are not a small stakeholder; we are the people playing in the league, we are actually the league. You are taking decision on ending the league, instead you prefer calling the media, this means, you have reduced us to the same level with the masses out there. We were meant to get this information be
fore it went to the public. We would not have stopped them, because Fufa have that mandate to stop the league during such crises. This is about breakdown in communication.

But clubs have forfeited all their powers to Fufa…

Yes, we share the blame and that is the reason we have come to our senses, and said, hey look, we have given away more than what we should have and it’s not too late to know that you have gotten lost and try to reorganise yourself. This is what we are doing now.

Is it sustainable? Surely, some of the clubs will abandon the cause

I believe it’s sustainable. The most important thing is that we have started. We’ll depend on us the chairmen; it’s how united we are. Some of these things were happening because we were not united, never together. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but I’m optimistic that it can be done. To me, that is better than us folding our hands and say, ‘what can we do?’

If you had won Fufa VP election and were there today, how different would you have handled such issues?

I had wanted to be the third vice chairperson. Maybe some of these things would have been avoided. I told you it’s a communication problem. Our third vice chairperson [Florence Nakiwala], maybe she has forgotten that she is our ambassador there, if she remembers at all, she has never shown that she does anything in that regard, and she is the reason why there is the rift. She has never linked us to the executive committee. Maybe if she was doing her job effectively, she would be up there talking for us. Like, if they sit as executive committee to end the league, she would maybe say, let me first consult my constituency. But for almost four years she has been representing us on the Fufa Exco, and she has never come to us as club chairmen, the people who voted her. When we were requesting for a bailout, I rang her up, and told her, ‘Honourable, I have called to let you know that clubs are suffering because of this pandemic. When the issue comes up at Exco meeting, then you talk for us.’ She said okay my sister, I’ll do that.

Later, she sent a message saying they had met and discussed club issues. That was May 8 [ reads the WhatsApp message on her phone ]. And the next communication I got from her was a month later on June 8. This is Monday when the other [Fufa] invitation came in and she had heard that we were not going to attend. She was reminding us to attend. Nothing on the club bailout at all! I disregarded it By the way, I don’t want people to politicise issues, like maybe she won the election and that I lost, I’m now fighting her; I’m only fighting for the rights of the clubs not even that of Busoga United alone.

Busoga United must be getting support from the kingdom so it shouldn’t be financially strained

But the club is not called Busoga Kingdom United, it’s Busoga United FC. I don’t think changing the name gave us an attachment to the kingdom,like when you go down the market here, you will find a mall called Busoga Mall, is it attached to the kingdom? No. So the name just gave us an attachment to Busoga, and, to me, Busoga kingdom is different from Busoga.

Aren’t you worried Fufa might influence relegation of you rebel clubs?

Of course, it does not worry me at all. You want to eliminate me who has a smaller problem, have you solved your bigger problem? At the end of the day, I’m off but you will remain with a very big burden so targeting clubs is not a solution. They should make such clubs partners instead, because they help you to identify your weaknesses.

Will you give another shot at a Fufa job?

No, I have other things to do.

Things like your school head teacher job? Will you leave running of schools for football administration? No. The office of the school and also of Busoga United. So it’s so easy to do both jobs. Maybe the problem will come when I stop being the head teacher of Jinja SS. Mind you, I’m not going to be here next year; I will be in Parliament representing Njeru Municipality.
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