Uganda Youth Football Association (UYFA) Chairman Roberts Kiwanuka says that he’s willing to help football academies attain membership status in a bid to develop the game at the grassroots level.
Kiwanuka, also the Rays of Grace Academy Director, says he’s willing to help fellow academy owners register with the association by helping them to meet the registration and licensing requirements.
“We don’t want to leave any youth football group, team or academy behind. Academies need to have functional structures; you can’t be the director, coach, CEO and finance manager which derails professionalism and development,” Kiwanuka told UYFA media.
“The registration forms can even be downloaded from the UYFA website which makes it easier. We want academies to engage FUFA always with one voice through UYFA. Good enough the FUFA president Eng. Moses Magogo is so much passionate about youth football and we are grateful for his massive support,” Kiwanuka added.
However, even after registering, the academies will have to be approved first before being recognized as members of UYFA. Academies will have to fullfil regulations that will determine their membership to the UYFA.
The issue of academy regulations, that determines to their (academy) recognition was approved in the 22nd FUFA (Federation of Uganda Football Associations) Executive Committee meeting which was held in March 2020. According to FUFA, the five key areas in regard to academy regulations are; governance, sporting, personnel and administration, finance plus infrastructure and equipment.
Two weeks ago, UYFA approved 14 new football academies as its full members after they fulfilled set regulations to acquire approval for the same. This was confirmed during the association’s 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually at its office located at the FUFA Special Interest Groups home in Lungujja, Kampala.
Kiwanuka has also called for unity and collective approach among the association members saying that he wants to see every UYFA member proud to belong to the association in order to encourage more football academies to register with it.
“We want to improve on the benefits available to members by applying the concept of collective action. The more united we are, the stronger we become and the further we can go. Most of the members’ concerns can be addressed to achieve beyond expectations if we decide to work as a team,” Kiwanuka said.
“We are telling other academies who have not yet joined to hurry up and register with UYFA,” noted Kiwanuka, who is also the association’s direct delegate to the FUFA assembly alongside Mansoor Kabugo of Kampala Junior Team (KJT).
Also, UYFA is currently establishing the list of registered academies per region per day, a process that started on Sunday, 25th July and will run up to 1st August 2021. Buganda, Kampala, Eastern, Northern, Western, North East, West Nile and Kitara Regions academies will be covered respectively.
