It’s time to clean house at Fufa: our football deserves better

Ugandan football is bigger than any office, any chairman, any single name.

Right now, the game is stuck, and the fans, players, and clubs paying the price. Why change cannot wait The leadership at Fufa is under a cloud. Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, is reportedly under investigation for corruption, and he has been barred from entering the USA and EU.

He cannot even attend the World Cup! His wife Anita Among, the former speaker of parliament, is also under house arrest over corruption and illicit enrichment amid recent revelations that parliamentary funds were misused to buy a Shs 3.4bn Rolls-Royce.

Whether you believe every detail or not, the optics are bad. Football sponsors normally get nervous when such developments occur. Fans lose trust. Players lose focus. And while the back-and-forth plays out, grassroots football, referees, academies, and the Cranes all suffer.

History has shown that football does not grow in an environment of scandal and distraction. It grows when leadership is clean, accountable and focused on the game.

In such scenarios, as was the case with the 2015 Fifa corruption case, the entire top leadership had to go in order to restore sanity.

In the current Fufa situation, especially after the ministry of Education and Sports has come to reveal that Fufa and parliament attempted to smuggle in a Shs 290bn budget for football for the 2025/2026 financial year, there is need for an overhaul.

And, there is no doubt Uganda has the people to start a new phase We don’t need to look abroad for saviors. We have Ugandans who know the game, have built things that work, and still command respect in the football community.

Take Robert Kabushenga; he brings corporate governance, media reach and a track record of running institutions with accountability. Then there is Andrew Rugyendo; he knows football administration and has the networks to bring clubs and sponsors back to the table.

Meanwhile, Deo Kasozi of Kitara represents the grassroots and regional clubs that actually produce talent. As for Immanuel Ben Misagga, he has been vocal on transparency and understands where the leaks are in the system.

I can even add Owek. Henry Sekabembe Kiberu, a football mind with experience in club management and fan mobilization. These may not be perfect people. Nobody is. But they share one thing: they are willing to be judged by results, not by connections.

They can vibe a new phase where Fufa is run like an institution, not a private club. Therefore, a clean Fufa means there would be transparent finances where every shilling accounted for, published, and audited.

Fufa also ought to have a professional league management where referees are protected, fixtures are on time while clubs are paid what they are owed. When it comes to youth and academies, there should be real investment outside Kampala so that talent in Gulu, Mbarara, Kitara and Kyotera get a pathway.

Lastly and importantly, there is need to bring back sponsor confidence. Companies should know their money goes to football, not personal projects. Imagine, the Cranes walking into Afcon qualifiers knowing the federation has their back.

Imagine sponsors lining up because they trust the system. Imagine children believing that if they are good enough, the system would not let them down. The country is watching. The players are waiting. The fans are tired of excuses.

The looming or much-needed change at Fufa is not about settling scores. It is about saving the game. If we want to compete at Afcon and beyond, we need leadership that puts Uganda first.

Let us give the game back to people who love it enough to protect it. The foundation is there. The talent is there. What is missing is a clean, focused administration.

The author is a Uganda Cranes fan based in Masaka.

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