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Why Fufa’s plan to grow local coaches on the international scene leaves a lot to be desired
ROBERT MADOI
The received wisdom that one walked away with after watching Sam Ssimbwa attempt – on NTV’s Press Box – to trace the through line of the Cranes fiasco in Douala is hardly inspiring. Ssimbwa is one not known to throw a cloak of political correctness over the ugly and intolerable. And true to form, the former Cranes international managed to season optimism with a dash of realism by revealing the fragile role that local football coaches play. Apparently, those ‘fortunate’ enough to be part of the Cranes backroom staff do no more than receive a steady paycheque. Such a measure, on mature consideration, may not be a stretch especially since Ssimbwa sat in the Cranes dugout with not one or two but three foreign coaches (Muhammad Abbas, Csaba László and Bobby Williamson). By casually casting doubt on whether “Ugandan assistants to foreign coaches…are…listened to”, Ssimbwa has succeeded in opening a Pandora’s box. Whether the powers that be will belatedly awake to the costs of their cynical choices remains to be seen. Discussions about the relevance and/or suitability of local coaches for the national job are of course not new. Some are believed to have recklessly squandered their genius and others had theirs tragically stolen. This column under no circumstances sets out to make a claim that local coaches are fizzing with energy and ideas. If anything, many of them have experienced progress that is often chaotic. The challenges they face are legion and complex. But does this mean they should be no more than just listening posts in the Cranes dugout? Certainly not! The Fufa ecosystem, however, supports growth of local coaches, but by not much. The decision to reduce Abdallah Mubiru to a bit-part role after guiding Uganda to the 2020 African Nations Championship (Chan) has been widely viewed as a tragic squandering of home-bred success. Ssimbwa said as much on Press Box, and the assertion doubtless has several supporters. It will trouble many that what Mubiru was subjected to is neither the first or last such episode. Yet elsewhere FAs such as Morocco’s have opted to use the Chan to nurture skills of native coaches (while Houcine Ammouta successfully wielded the coaching reins in Cameroon, Bosnian Vahid Halilhodžić will return to the dugout for the Afcon and World Cup qualifiers). In Uganda, the argument for native coaches ratcheted up another more dangerous notch when Fufa supplanted Peter Onen with Ghanaian tactician Paa Samuel Kwesi Fabin. This was on the eve of the 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. Like Mubiru, Onen had qualified Uganda to the big time only to get the short end of the stick. Fufa apologists will hasten to add that local coaches will run the table at this year’s Afcon U-20 (Morley Byekwaso) and U-17 (Hamza Lutalo) tournaments. Questions will still be asked if things go wrong, as cynics suspect they will, and Fufa turns to imports. It is about time Fufa stopped being curiously uninterested in what’s going on in regard to tooling its native coaches. While the refresher courses offered to local coaches are broadly welcome, superintending over the muting of their voices on the international scene is such a bad look. Fufa should learn a thing or two from the local basketball governing body, Fuba, which understands the bigness of local coaches gaining experience or new skills from a foreign import. It is evident that the likes of Mandy Juruni and Nick Natuhereza have picked up best practices from working alongside the Silverbacks (men’s national team) head coach George Galanopoulos. What’s more is the fact that the likes of Juruni cascade their experience effectively to other emerging coaches like Brian Wathum. It is evident that a spirit of collegiality is absent among the current crop of local football coaches. One possible reason local coaches don’t compare notes is because they haven’t received an answer to a simple question – to what end? It’s Fufa’s job to ensure that local coaches aren’t resigned to viewing the Cranes job as a glass ceiling. They shouldn’t also look at the role of an assistant as a poisoned chalice. If the vast majority of local coaches continue to accept that something undesirable cannot be avoided, the domino effect of loss perpetuating loss will stay put. Make no mistake, foreign imports could yet still play an important role in Ugandan football coaching backdrop. But for this to see the light of day, the culture has to change. Email: rmadoi@ntv.ug Twitter: @robertmadoi