There is a common saying that every finishing line marks the beginning of a new race. And that is the case with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) after the Uganda Cranes sealed qualification to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
In a press briefing held on Wednesday at FUFA House in Mengo, Kampala, FUFA President Eng. Moses Magogo revealed that this time, the next target for the team will be to play at FIFA World Cup.
The President indicated that the federation will try to go a notch high and set its target at qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
‘In 2014 after failing to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, we sat down as FUFA to lay down a strategy that would help us achieve that target. We held a symposium and designed out 8 key aspects and indeed we managed to obtain the set target. That is done but football continues, therefore, as FUFA we are now setting a new target and that is qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, USA and Canada.’ Said the FUFA President.
He explained that the set target does not mean that the Cranes will not take part in the campaigns between now and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
‘This does not mean that we will not participate and compete in the tournaments between now and 2026. We have to play at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and qualifiers for subsequent campaigns plus CHAN and the 2022 World Cup. Like we set our target at 2019 AFCON and achieved success much earlier by playing at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, we shall maintain the same focus and commitment.’ He said.
The FUFA boss however stated that the target will not come on a silver platter and will require efforts from all the key stakeholders.
‘It does not end at just saying we want to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There must be efforts done to achieve the said targets. We believe every stakeholder including government, FUFA, players, coaches, sponsors and fans has a role to play.’
He revealed that FUFA has a designed strategy called FLIP that can help Uganda improve not only the game of football but the sports sector in general.
‘We have devised a policy called FLIP that stands for Funding, Law, Infrastructure and Policies. Those are the four aspects we think can transform the sports sector into a more viable venture and we shall try to sell it to government.’
It should be also noted that FUFA and other sports federations in conjunction with the Parliament of Uganda are in the process of formulating a new sports law.
