The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga has attributed Uganda’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to a lack of inspiration within the national football team and called for reforms to ignite national pride and competitiveness.
Reacting to Uganda’s failure to progress beyond the group stage, Mayiga argued that while several factors contributed to the disappointing campaign, inspiration or the lack of it remains a critical missing link.
“Uganda didn’t get out of the group stage at AFCON for a number of reasons, but lack of inspiration is one of them,” Mayiga said.
He questioned the current identity of the team, suggesting that even its name fails to inspire fear or confidence.
“The name Cranes is so docile, the national bird is so lazy,” Mayiga said.
He argued that the team’s branding does not reflect the aggression and courage required at the highest level of competition.
“Why not name the National Team the Spears, which signifies courage and victory?” he added.
Mayiga also criticised the absence of a strong and consistent national identity in the team’s colours, noting that Uganda lacks traditional colours that fans can emotionally connect to.
“The National Team lacks a colour premised on the origins of the National Team, not on colours of sponsors like Airtel or MTNNational teams of other countries have traditional and specific colours,” he said.
The Buganda Premier further pointed to the lack of a unifying anthem that fans can rally behind during matches, saying this denies both players and supporters a powerful source of motivation.
“The National Team doesn’t have an anthem which the fans can echo throughout the matches,” he noted.
Beyond the national team, Mayiga turned his attention to the domestic league and argued that structural weaknesses in the Uganda Premier League are undermining the national side. He criticized the dominance of government parastatal teams, saying they lack organic fan bases and therefore weaken competition.
“Government parastatals and agencies shouldn’t have football clubs since they lack a fan base, and hence the Uganda Premier League can’t grow a fan base,” Mayiga said. “A league that lacks a strong fan base is never competitive and cannot produce a strong National Team.”
Instead, he called on state agencies to redirect their resources towards supporting community-based clubs with established followings.
“Parastatals like UPDF, Police and URA should sponsor community-based clubs such as SC Villa, Vipers, Express and Wakiso Giants,” Mayiga said, arguing that this would strengthen the league and, in turn, the national team.
Uganda’s AFCON campaign ended at the group stage after a mixed run of results against seasoned continental opponents, leaving the Cranes short of the points needed to advance. Despite moments of resilience and disciplined defending, Uganda failed to register a decisive victory, finishing the group with limited goal output and conceding at crucial stages of matches.
