Omar Ahmed Mandela returned for another spell as SC Villa president after he was unopposed in the latest club elections held on March 22.
With backing from the majority of fans, Mandela’s return serves as a clear indication that the Villa faithful have been delighted by his work thus far but the job is far from over for the newly crowned president.
Here are the FIVE crucial tasks facing Mandela upon his return to office.
Secure a permanent home for the club
For all their success on the pitch, SC Villa don’t have a place they call home.
The most successful club in the country has wandered across the country from Nakivubo, to Namboole, to Wankulukuku, to Masaka, to Mityana, to Bombo hosting their home matches.
Sadly, even their once-revered training ground, Villa Park, Nsambya, is no more following road constructions in the city, but on a lighter note, they compensated billions.
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees Gerald Ssendaula says the money is on a fixed account and has made interest worth more than 1.2billion.
Now, time is right to invest the money in a permanent home that Villa will call home for good.
At the moment, they are housed at the former East High School, Kulambiro but that is a property of Mandela and not the club.
Invest in Zeljko Kovacevic’s squad
During their General Meeting earlier this month, Mandela talked about a long-term plan to ensure dominance once again not only in Uganda but on the continent as well.
But you can’t win trophies without a high-quality squad with depth. During this reign, Mandela should invest in the squad by adding quality players and keeping those available if they are going to return to the glory days.
Fully embrace VMT registration
When the Villa Members Trust (VMT), a platform for fans to register each season and contribute finances and be part of the team owners, was introduced years back, it was meant to take the club to another level.
However, during Mandela’s first term in office, the VMT was never given priority until towards the elections.
Besides, the registration was limited to physical presence at East High, and this hindered the number of people who couldn’t trek the journey.
SC Villa has fans world over, and an online registration process should be embraced with the club, engineering this.
If the club can register over 10,000 fans a season for the ordinary membership fee of 50,000 Ugx, that amount is enough for the club to start a season in addition to funds from other sponsors and funders.
Improve communication and media relations
SC Villa is arguably the biggest brand in terms of domestic club football but in the modern era, their communication department and media relations are wanting.
As observed with contradictory statements during the election period, the club needs to streamline its communication and also improve its media channels, including social media.
Even the fans don’t know what is going on at their beloved club, thriving on rumours. This is an area that Mandela and his executive must sort out this term.
Address issues with merchandise and jersey sales
And finally, despite having the biggest fan base in the country, SC Villa have not capitalised on the numbers in terms of merchandise sales.
The Villa fans are ready and willing to buy club merchandise, most especially jerseys but the club has been slow and reluctant to serve them.
In this area, Villa needs to utilise these numbers by unveiling a new kit every season and replicas put on the market.
This hasn’t been the case with Villa still using the 2024/25 season kit that was ironically introduced midway last season.
Thank u Munnabuddu