The Uganda Cranes’ latest recruitment drive has triggered a fierce debate over the future of Ugandan football, with fans and former national team stars questioning the decision to bring in a growing number of players allegedly born or raised outside the country.
The controversy erupted after FUFA president Moses Magogo announced that the federation, working with the Government, had embarked on a programme to identify Ugandan-heritage players eligible to represent the national team.
With Uganda preparing for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals and facing Libya in an AFCON qualifier at Hoima Stadium, FUFA says the initiative is part of a broader strategy to strengthen the Cranes. But the move has divided football supporters.
While some fans welcome the international scouting programme as a way of giving Uganda access to players competing in stronger professional leagues, others accuse FUFA of neglecting locally developed footballers. Former Cranes and KCC FC star Jackson Mayanja is among those opposed to the project.
“That project is utter nonsense that must be rejected by all Ugandans. We can’t be talking of nurturing talent from grassroots yet at the same time we turn to foreigners. Moses Magogo can do better than this,” Mayanja said.
The former international has also threatened to mobilise ex-internationals to challenge Magogo’s leadership of FUFA.
The foreign legion
The latest recruitment drive has brought into focus players with Ugandan ancestry who have grown up in France, Britain, Canada and other countries, as well as players born to West African parents but with a Ugandan parent or grandparent.
FUFA says consultants were hired to identify eligible players worldwide and produced a report containing more than 200 names. From that pool, 20 players were identified for closer consideration.
By the time of the announcement, nine had reportedly arrived at the Cranes’ Marriott Hotel camp in Kampala ahead of the trip to Hoima and subsequent international engagements.
Among them is Abdoulaye Sissako, a midfielder at Belgian side Sint-Truiden. Born in France, the former French youth international is of Malian and Ugandan descent.
There is also goalkeeper Akpan David Udoh of Malta’s Mosta FC, who was born in 1999 and was part of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets squad that won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2015.
Dieudonne Gaucho Debohi, a defensive midfielder and centre-back at Polish club Rakow Czestochowa, was born to Ivorian parents, but his maternal grandmother, Tereza Wandera, was born in Majanji, Uganda.
Souleyman Diaby, a left-back at FC Winterthur in Switzerland, was born to Ivorian parents. FUFA says his maternal grandfather, Sonko Sulaiman, was from Masaka.
Vula Arnold, a forward at Belgian side K. Beerschot VA, was born to Congolese parents, while his paternal grandmother was born in Pakwach.
Another notable recruit is Noble Okello Ayo, a 6ft 5in midfielder playing for Lexington SC in the United States.
Okello was raised in Toronto by parents of Ugandan descent, with Lango roots. He represented Canada at youth level and earned two senior caps in 2020. FUFA says he is eligible for a one-time switch of international allegiance under FIFA regulations.
Nathan Asiimwe, meanwhile, was born in London to Ugandan parents. The right-back, who plays for Salford City on loan from Charlton Athletic, came through Charlton’s youth system before choosing to represent Uganda.
Kelvin Owusu Boateng, a striker with Austria Vienna, was born to Ghanaian parents from Accra, although FUFA says one of his grandparents was born in Uganda.
Goalkeeper Kingdom Osayi, born to Nigerian parents, is another recruit. His maternal grandmother was reportedly born in Kaberamaido.
Why the backlash?
For many Ugandan supporters, the issue is not simply whether the players are legally eligible to play for the Cranes.
It is whether an aggressive search for players with distant Ugandan ancestry risks undermining the country’s domestic football development.
Social media has become the main battleground. Alex J Muhangi questioned the financial cost of the programme, saying the Government had allocated Shs1.5b to support FUFA’s efforts to recruit foreign-based footballers of Ugandan heritage ahead of AFCON 2027.
Gabriel Buule pointed to Egypt’s success, arguing that several of the country’s AFCON-winning teams were built largely around players competing in domestic football.
Jackson Mayanja has taken an even stronger position, arguing that Uganda cannot simultaneously speak about developing local talent while searching abroad for players. Other supporters have raised similar concerns.
One social-media user questioned what the initiative means for players already competing in the Uganda Premier League.
Another asked why FUFA was looking for players whose grandparents were Ugandan when there are players born and raised in Uganda waiting for opportunities.
A supporter using the handle Okello Omerimeri wrote: “This one is our own. Stop bringing foreign players. We can relate with names like Okello not Boateng.”
Another fan asked: “Where does this leave our local grown talent, the players of teams that Moses Magogo desperately tells us to support?”
There were also complaints about the identity of the recruits. One supporter said it was difficult to identify with “all those West African names”, while another argued that Uganda should concentrate on players who have a direct connection to the country.
A further social-media reaction questioned the long-term sustainability of the policy and its possible effect on locally bred talent.
Not everyone is opposed
The backlash, however, is not universal. Some supporters have welcomed the international recruitment drive, arguing that modern football is increasingly shaped by players who have multiple national identities.
One social-media user described the initiative as a positive development and said it had helped other African countries.
Another supporter urged FUFA to expand the search to players such as Divine Mukasa, Ryan Kavuma-McQueen and Bashir Humphreys, whom the user said were eligible through their parents. Another fan wrote: “Let’s bring all of them back.”
There were also comparisons with other African countries. Some supporters argued that Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo have benefited from identifying players with links to their countries who developed their careers abroad.
The debate therefore goes beyond the immediate AFCON qualifiers.
It touches on a fundamental question: should Uganda build the Cranes principally around players produced by the domestic system, or should the national team actively recruit eligible players from the global Ugandan diaspora?
FUFA’s three-pronged strategy
FUFA insists the heritage-player programme is only one component of a broader strategy. According to the federation, its plan has three main pillars: heritage players, domestic club competitions and structured academies.
The heritage-player component involves scouting professional footballers who are eligible to represent Uganda under FIFA regulations and Ugandan law.
The domestic-club component is aimed at improving the governance, sporting performance and business operations of professional football clubs.
The academy component focuses on identifying and nurturing young players through academy structures, youth competitions and national youth teams.
FUFA says the AFCON qualifiers are also being used to identify the strongest possible group of Ugandan players and create cohesion ahead of the 2027 finals.
A policy with history
The recruitment of players with Ugandan heritage is not entirely new. The supplied FUFA material lists several players who have represented Uganda despite being born abroad or having international football backgrounds.
Among those mentioned are Asani Bajope, Bana Zidane, Ekuchu Kasongo, Nestroy Kizito, Mutumba Kayongo, Ronald Mukiibi, Bevis Mugabi, Elio Capraddosi, Tobby Sibick, Jordan Obita, Uche Ikpeazu Mubiru, Melvyn Lorenzen, Elvis Bwomono, Alhassan Baba, Noble Okello and Nathan Asiimwe.
The current controversy is therefore less about the existence of heritage players and more about the scale and direction of the latest recruitment drive.
Critics fear the project could become a shortcut around weaknesses in Uganda’s domestic development system.
Supporters, meanwhile, argue that eligibility is what matters and that Uganda should not deliberately exclude talented players simply because they were born or developed abroad.
The Magogo question
Behind the football argument is growing scrutiny of Magogo’s leadership and the decisions being taken by FUFA.
Sources cited in the supplied material claim that the current recruitment drive gained momentum after criticism of the Cranes’ performance, including a heavy defeat against Algeria.
The sources allege that following a State House meeting, Magogo instructed his team to search for eligible players, particularly in West Africa.
The same sources claim the Government approved Shs1.5b for the programme after an initial request of Shs2b.
These claims are attributed to sources familiar with the alleged meetings and are not independently established in the supplied material.
The programme has nevertheless coincided with changes in the way the national team is being prepared.
A source cited in the material said President Yoweri Museveni also directed that the Cranes should stop camping in what was described as a “Ghetto Hotel”, with the team now staying at the Marriott.
The bigger battle
For Uganda, the immediate priority remains qualification and preparation for AFCON 2027. But the argument over heritage players exposes a deeper tension in Ugandan football.
On one side are supporters who want the national team to represent the country’s football development from the grassroots upwards.
On the other are those who see no contradiction between investing in domestic football and recruiting eligible Ugandans from the international professional market.
The current squad-building experiment will therefore be closely watched. For Magogo and FUFA, success would mean assembling a competitive Cranes side while continuing to develop the domestic game.
For critics such as Mayanja, however, the central concern is whether the influx of players from abroad will crowd out footballers who have spent years developing through Uganda’s clubs and academies.
The question now confronting FUFA is not simply whether these players qualify to wear the Uganda jersey.
It is whether Ugandans will identify with a Cranes increasingly assembled from players whose football education took place elsewhere.
As the AFCON 2027 campaign gathers momentum, the answer will be measured not only in results on the pitch but also in whether the federation can convince supporters that the international recruitment drive complements — rather than replaces — the development of Ugandan football at home.
Author Profile
- Charles Gazza Kodili is a seasoned journalist with over 20 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication. He’s currently the Chief Editor at the Investigator.
Charles can also be reached via; Tel: +256 774 108978
Email: [email protected]
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