Football Federations in the region have been blamed for neglecting the development of women football yet the world football body FIFA allocates some money for that in their annual grant.
The Secretary General of the Council for East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) Nicholas Musonye, has blamed Federations in the region including Uganda for neglecting women football development.
Musonye told URN reporter in Dar-es salaam that the 11 Cecafa member countries through their Football Federations (FA) have totally left women football to die in their countries because they are not giving it attention.
“The onus is on the member countries to develop women football because FIFA even supports them with funding. It is not easy for us to organise women football tournaments because we might end up with a scenario where we don’t have teams,” said Musonye.
Every year, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) gives member Federations a grant of about US$250,000 and a big percentage of this money is meant for women football development. But many countries are not utilising the money for this purpose.
The Secretary General said he believes the region has abundant talent in women football. “Apart from Tanzania who are trying e others are sleeping,” said Musonye.
But Rogers Mulindwa, the spokesperson for the Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) said they have not neglected women football. “We have been busy with bigger events, but we shall embark on keeping closer monitoring and development of women football,” added Mulindwa.
Musonye who said he will leave the Cecafa secretariat during the 2013 General Assembly also called upon the recently elected members onto the Executive Committee to work hard for the region and forget about football politicking. “Sometimes the problem with football leaders is politicking. But I hope the new faces in Cecafa simply think about football development,” he stressed.
Asked why many nations with in the Cecafa region have continued to struggle during qualifies for the Africa Cup of Nations, Olympics and the World Cup and the solution, Musonye said lack of focus is one of the issues and poor preparations. He however, adds that one of the solutions to this problem is to bring a foreign coach because most footballers in our region simply believe in the ‘white skin’.
