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Sunday, April 13, 2014 

FUFA changes logo amidst controversy

Kampala, Uganda -The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) has changed its logo and controversially omitted the two crested cranes. 

The Crested Crane is Uganda’s bird of honour and the national team is called the Uganda Cranes. The new logo maintains the ball and the three national flag colours – black, yellow and red. 

The new logo, which will be displayed on the Cranes’ jerseys, also has five stars, which according to Fufa president Moses Magogo represent Fufa’s five football structures; the General Assembly, The Executive Committees, The Standing Committees, The Judicial Bodies, and the Secretariat.

He remarked, “This is a Fufa logo, not a Cranes logo, it will not change anything about Cranes. But yes, it will be on the Cranes’ shirt.” 

There were also other logos unveiled including the Uganda Cup Logo, Fufa Big League and Fufa Inter–regions logo. According to Magogo, all the logos have been registered as Trade Marks. 

Ironically, the logo was revealed during the unveiling of Cranes’ 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification roadmap. 

It’s funny to even imagine what was going on in the heads of these Fufa bosses; could it be that they were nursing their inflated egos or it’s simply a new of way of thinking in Mengo. That we shall never know.

Perhaps there were other motives behind the removal of the country’s bird of honour from the crest and replacing it with administrative structures…..like seriously?

That this is a Fufa logo and not a cranes logo is clearly idle talk of a very exhausted mind (no pun intended). It even gets more interesting given that Fufa’s contribution to football in Uganda is only seen when the Cranes have an engagement. 

So if this is not contradiction, then what is it?

Now what should we call the national team then….the stars perhaps?

It’s absolutely not changing the Logos that will ultimately propel the national team to the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup, rather it is a change in the mode of play.

Being a new man at the helm of Uganda’s soccer administration, I would imagine that Magogo’s first task should have been redesigning a clear road map by putting in place clear football structures instead of engaging in time wasting ventures such as this. 

In a country where domestic football is almost non-existent, Magogo should have known better that his task is to ensure that the domestic league is competitive and vibrant…that way there would be continuity and enough talent to bolster the national teams (Kobs, Cranes). 

The Morocco 2015 campaign kicks off barely two weeks from now…all we have now is a new logo and no clear roadmap. 

Whoever is advising Magogo clearly has no love for him…he was supposed to help clear the mess that has characterized Ugandan football for close to a decade now…instead they are channeling their efforts elsewhere. 

By Emma Onyango, Sunday, April 13th, 2014