CRACKING THE WHIP: First Lady Janet Museveni To Intervene in Cranes Payment Saga

By PATRICK JARAMOGI

KAMPALA- SHIFTMEDIA- The “Shitty football” talk by Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) president Eng. Moses Magogo is causing ripples in the football arena.

The remarks dubbed as “reckless” by soccer enthusiasts are likely to cost the Budiope East new Member of Parliament Elect who seeks to run for a third term. His current term ends in August 2021.

The remarks made by Magogo during a recent presser has thrown ‘spanner in the works’ with Uganda Cranes goalie and Captain Denis Onyango threatening to throw in the towel. Onyango apparently resigned from Uganda Cranes on April 12.

In a letter to FUFA President, Moses Magogo, Onyango who has served as Cranes Goal Keeper for 16 years said:

“It has been a great pleasure and honour to represent my country and I will always appreciate the experience and knowledge that I have gained while playing for the Cranes,” Onyango said in the letter.

The latest report we can unearth is that apart from demanding their emoluments for the CHAN tournament played in Cameroon, Uganda Cranes players are demanding hefty sums from FUFA in form of salary arrears.

FUFA through funding and support from the Ministry of Education and Sports is supposed to pay the national players a salary of Ugx1 million per month.

Scores of the national team players we talked to said they are demanding millions of shillings in salary arrears from FUFA.

Magogo who was suspended for two months by FIFA in 2019, and fined USD10,000 after he was accused of fraud in the World Cup Ticket sales now faces a challenger, Makindye West MP, Hon. Allan Sewanyana.

Sewanyana, the shadow minister for sports in Parliament announced his bid to dislodge Magogo during a press conference held at his Makindye offices.

In his words, Magogo said: “Some of the (Crane) players don’t deserve any money because they played ‘shitty’ football during the CHAN championship”.

The latest outburst from National Team Captain Denis Onyango has reached First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataha Museveni, we have established.

The first lady is particularly concerned that the disagreements come at a time when Uganda is supposed to be planning for World Cup Qualifiers.

Uganda faces Mali, Rwanda and Kenya in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers that starts in June.

Now with team Captain saying: “I do not know who will play for him (Magogo) in the World Cup qualifiers because for me, I do not have the time for people like that,” Magogo needs to explain what is next for the national team, a close aide to the First Lady said.

Though Magogo skipped the FIFA hook (survived a three-year ban) due to his role in the controversial resale of the 2014 World Cup tickets, inside sources close to the Minister in charge of Sports, intimate that it is time to crack the whip.

Now the same man, Allan Ssewanya who petitioned FIFA about the fictitious sale of the FIFA World Cup tickets, is back to haunt Magogo. Apparently, Ssewanya had revealed in the petition that out of the tickets meant for Uganda, a total of 177 tickets had found their way in America and South Africa before being sold in the black market.

Neither Magogo, nor FUFA has come out to comment, FUFA said they will respond at an appropriate time.