As the kickoff of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations draws nigh, government and Fufa are working frantically to put up a strong Uganda Cranes team. The local FA has left no stone unturned and so far, it has been reported that there are 20 possible new players being scouted from overseas that could be naturalised in order to play for the national team.
Seven players predominantly from West Africa were recently used during the Africa Cup of Nations and International Friendly matches that The Cranes played. There have been mixed reactions from the Ugandan football fraternity towards this recent development.
Those who support the idea look at it as a way of building a strong team, but those who are against the move think it might kill the local talent. According to sources in Fufa, more than 200 players with some attachment to Uganda through descent or some family ties have been identified, especially in Europe.
The federation is thus working with government to naturalise those who meet head coach Paul Put’s required qualities. But the majority of U-20 Hippos team players that reached the Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 have seemingly vanished from the picture.
Building a team takes time. Fitting all of them into a functional working system is bound to take some time. It surely cannot be the same as having players who play in the same league, or you have seen emerge for some time in a set system, where it is easy to fit them all.
Yet, has anyone also thought about how this naturalisation process will affect local talent? The Cranes teams of years gone by were constructed using home grown talent. The transformation of Ugandan football back then from an inconsistent set-up into an impressive youth development programme was driven by structural and institutional reforms.
Following disappointing performances in the earlier Afcon tournaments that saw The Cranes knocked out of these tournaments early, the government and Fufa collaborated with the Germany government to send a top tactician who handled the national senior team, while at the same time managed the youth development programme.
Germany sent Pape to Uganda in 1968. Upon his arrival, the tactician worked on many things including the players training regime, welfare, food and nutrition, players personal health, motivation and more.
The argument doing the rounds in Kampala is whether the current naturalisation drive is a shortcut to AFCON glory or a long-term betrayal of the youth system that once produced the Cranes' golden generation. Ask any Villa supporter and you get one of two answers.
- Fufa is scouting 20 overseas players for naturalisation to bolster the Cranes squad for AFCON 2027.
- More than 200 players with Ugandan descent or family ties have been identified in Europe.
- Seven West African-born players were used in recent AFCON and friendly matches.
- The U-20 Hippos team reached the 2021 Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations but their players have not progressed.
- In 1968, Germany sent tactician Pape to Uganda to overhaul player welfare, nutrition, and youth development.
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Source: Uganda Observer
