Whoever is praying for sanity to return to Ugandan football should probably include all sports disciplines. Football finds its self in this situation because the people administering it stopped working for the development of the game and started fighting each other.
For five years now or so that’s what football has been about, the reason the competition on the pitches has remained average and which is heartbreaking to the lovers of the beautiful game. My biggest concern of late has been volleyball, simply because it is the sport I care about most.
And unfortunately the rate at which Uganda Volleyball Federation (UVF) and its members (clubs) are growing apart is worrying. Four time league winners Sport-S have been looked at as one team that is at war with UVF.
In the past I reported on how UVF has suspended Sport-S’ Warren Muhangi for what they referred to as ‘disrespecting the executive’. Of late, in volleyball, people are not entitled to their views, and it was unfortunate that national association could ban a member because of what he writes on social media.
UVF never succeeded as the disciplinary committee that sat ruled in favor the Sport-S player. The latest still involves Sport-S who UVF have refused to acknowledge that that they have a right to transfer players from other clubs.
UVF have refused to accept the transfer forms of Astreede Agaaba, Eunice Amuron (both from Nkumba), Jessica Kaidu (Ndejje Elites) Barnabas Tugume (UCU Doves) and Ivan Bbumba (Jinja) even after Sport-S had paid transfers worth Shs500,000 for the five players.
UVF had asked Sport-S to return the NSSF branded kit they were supposed to use in the league, a move Sport-S have failed to honor. UVF claim a meeting sat where clubs that agreed to take the NSSF jersey, would use it. In the event that they fail to, then they ought to return the jersey.
No one knows how far this might go but it is totally not good for the sport that is still struggling to find its feet in a sport society that is growing every day. Today it’s Sport-S, tomorrow it will be another club, and the biggest problem is that the men and women at Namela House are not really bothered with what is going on.
How I wish they acknowledged that clubs are stakeholders in this game and have a say just like them. Volleyball needs focused people, at the moment it as people who act with their hearts and not their minds, which will only lead us down the drain.
