Sunday 22 May 2022, 22:00

Uganda women's football ready to embrace FIFA Club Licensing

  • In Uganda, the professionalisation of women's football is being driven forward

  • The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) successfully held a seminar on Women Club Licensing

  • "The workshop is like a dream come true" - FUFA president Magogo Moses Hassim

In Uganda, the beginnings of women's football date back to the 1990s. In 1994, the national team played its first international match in Nairobi. This year, the senior women’s national team qualified for the 2022 CAF Africa Women's Cup of Nations, which will be held in Morocco. In addition, Uganda will host the 2022 CECAFA Women's Championship.

At club level in Uganda, today, there are currently three national women’s football competitions. The top tier is the FUFA Women’s Super League, the second tier is the FUFA Women’s Elite League, and there are several regional leagues played at the third tier.

With the help of club licensing, women's football is now set to be taken to a new level. Recognising the key role that clubs play in development, club licensing is an ideal tool to drive professionalisation, which in turn strengthens the development of players at club level and raises the overall standards in clubs around the world.

FIFA provides support and assistance to confederations and member associations to establish and improve the respective systems in place around the world. To do so, and in addition to current initiatives provided to a range of confederations and member associations, FIFA run club licensing seminars. FUFA is one of the first beneficiaries of this project and last week successfully held a seminar on Club Licensing in Women’s Football- the first member association in Africa to do so. The seminar, which was attended by all clubs in the FUFA Women Super League (10) and FUFA Women Elite League (13), was held at the Imperial Royale Hotel on 19 May and was the culmination of a six-day stay by Bruno Van Hellemont, Professionalisation Manager (FIFA Women's Football Division) and Andres Portabella, FIFA Advisor.

The duo paid a visit to FUFA headquarters, receiving a warm reception from the FUFA President Hon. Magago Moses Hassim, Chief Executive Officer Edgar Watson, FUFA Club Licensing Manager, Ivan Kintu Bayige, FUFA Women’s Club Licensing Coordinator, Shirah Nakaggwa, Chairman FUFA Club Licensing Committee, Rogers Mulindwa and Secretariat staff. They also met with FUFA's Competitions Department to exchange ideas on how best Club Licensing regulations can be implemented, meeting also attended by the FUFA 3rd Vice President Hon. Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, Chairperson of the Competitions Committee. To build a competitive national team - at all age levels - a strong foundation is needed. Here, too, Uganda's clubs play a major role, as they are instrumental in training young talent. Another point in favour of club licensing.

The seminar also witnessed a presentation by the chairperson of She Corporate FC, which focused on the current status of club licensing in Uganda, with topics as broad as finance, administration and personnel, club structure and legal aspects, and Infrastructure discussed. "The FIFA Women’s Club Licensing Programme is open to all the 211 Member Associations and we are currently working together with 16 countries around the world. During our visit to Kampala, it was a true privilege to see the great work FUFA and the clubs are doing to develop and grow women’s football in Uganda,” Portabella concluded.