Immanuel Ben Misagga
Even as the final matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) play out, many readers may not realise that a far more pressing clock is already ticking. Here is the thing: in just 18 months, the 2027 Afcon edition will kick off on home soil, co-hosted by us, Kenya, and Tanzania. Unfortunately, the so-called “Pamoja” dream is under immediate pressure.
Our neighbours’ recent performances offer little comfort: Tanzania scraped through to the knockout stage by a whisker. As for Kenya, they failed to qualify, and The Cranes exited the group stage with a whimper, looking less like a national team and more like a collection of disjointed mercenaries.
So, while we share the hosting burden in 2027, our focus must turn inward. As Uganda, the onus is squarely on us to transform this team to succeed at the highest level of competition.
The 2025 Afcon campaign was a stark warning. For those of us privy to the behind-the-scenes dynamics, the reasons for that shambolic display are no secret. At its core lies a self-inflicted wound: our baffling reliance on foreign-based players who simply aren’t good enough.
Consider the squad we took to Afcon. Only six players hailed from our own Uganda Premier League (UPL). The rest? So-called ‘professionals’ who spend their seasons warming benches abroad or fading into obscurity in nondescript leagues. These are often young talents shipped out before they were ready, lured by the glamour of ‘Europe’ without the substance to back it up. They return for national duty unfit, disconnected, and burdened by baggage.
To me, the solution is straightforward, yet it requires a fundamental shift in philosophy. We must rebuild The Cranes on the bedrock of a strong, self-respecting domestic league.
Look at the evidence before us. Today, the most talented player in our national set-up is arguably Allan Okello of Vipers SC. Yet, inexplicably, he struggles for consistent minutes on the national team. On any given day, a committed, match-fit UPL star is infinitely more valuable than a foreign-based benchwarmer.
We’ve seen this model work before. Clubs like Onduparaka and Bright Stars have consistently unearthed gems, even though they have not been utilised well. And history teaches us the best lesson: remember Magid Musisi? He honed his craft at SC Villa for six pivotal seasons, matured into a powerhouse, and then went on to conquer Europe. That is the blueprint—patience and proper development.
Besides the non-footballing distractions that dogged our Afcon camp and probably catalysed our early exit, our legion of pros seemed to lack the hunger, passion, grit, technical edge, and organisational fit to push the team.
The Cranes team needs a fair share of local talent on and off the pitch—a group that is well motivated, trusted, facilitated, but mostly kept together for long spells to build telepathy, camaraderie, and team culture that can be translated into sustainable results.
This is the time for Fufa to assemble experts to appraise our disastrous performance at Afcon and quickly respond by focusing on rebuilding. In the long run, it will be cheaper to allocate resources to supporting local academies, leagues, and under-age team models.
So, the mandate for the UPL board and the clubs is clear. They must prioritise local talent development over quick-fix signings and the fleeting prestige of selling players prematurely. They need to protect young players from premature moves, as a career built on solid foundations lasts longer and serves the nation better.
On paper, this is a taxing endeavour, but I believe it is workable. And this is right in our midst in this current generation, where key influencers or public figures openly engage the masses. I will single out my good friend Ramathan Ggoobi, the Finance Ministry permanent secretary, an Express FC diehard who occasionally tweets about his favourite club, Manchester United. Over the weekend, I listened to him on Capital FM’s Capital Gang meticulously breaking down the struggles and solutions for Express FC.
Ggoobi, for the years I have known him—right from his days as a sports columnist at The Sunrise newspaper—is indeed a passionate football fan. Given his huge public following, we need him more when he is tweeting about the local game and not about Manchester United. Honestly, I don’t even remember the last time he watched a local league game.
So, words without boots on the ground are a lost cause. To my friend Ggoobi, who has the clout to influence things: where are the Express FC sponsors, or at the bare minimum, the infrastructure? The point is, local clubs are dying due to lack of resources, not rhetoric or empty talk.
The UPL needs tangible support in terms of real government backing. Ggoobi, in spite of some limitations, has all the tools to make this possible through lobbying and budgeting.
Back to the national team: it is time to revive serious scouting, because the next big star isn’t always in a city academy; he’s in the villages, waiting to be found. Above all, we ought to invest genuinely in youth structures. This isn’t a cost; it’s the only sustainable investment in our footballing future.
Hosting Afcon 2027 is not just a tournament; it’s an ultimatum. We have 18 months to build a team our nation can be proud of—a team that reflects our passion and potential as Ugandans. That team will not be found on foreign benches. It will be forged right here, in the heart of our own league.
If we empower our UPL clubs to do their job, we will finally have a deep, talented, and cohesive pool of players to choose from. Only then will The Cranes truly take flight. The time for honest conversation and decisive action is now. Let’s not waste this chance.
In all this, we have to remember that we have just 18 months to correct the wrongs of the 2025 Afcon and turn around our fortunes. Time and decision-making are of the essence.
The author is a football investor and SC Villa President Emeritus.
