The president of the local football governing body, FUFA, Eng. Moses Magogo, has revealed that every member of the team (players and officials) that was in Algeria for the 2022 African Nations Championship (CHAN) will receive a package of $2,500 (about Shs9m).
Uganda Cranes’ journey at CHAN came to an end last Sunday following a 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers, Algeria.
The team finished third with four points in a group that included Senegal, Ivory Coast, and DR Congo.
Speaking at the luncheon on Sunday at the FUFA Complex in Mengo, Magogo applauded the 23-man squad despite failing to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in six attempts.
“I know many people look at results on the field, but as administrators, we consider a number of factors. There was a huge difference between the team that played at CHAN in Cameroon and the current squad. The difference this time, there were positives in terms of the performance of players,” said Magogo.
“I have always said that results do not paint the whole picture. We know this team is in a transitional period, and whatever we are going through is part of the process. Unfortunately, the fans and everyone else want to win, but world-over transitions take time. It can even take two or three generations to return to the best,” he added.
Magogo said that as FUFA, they were supposed to reward everyone with about $1,800 (about Shs6.6 million), but they decided to make it $2,500 (about Shs9 million) as a way of motivating the squad.
Meanwhile, FUFA will receive $300,000 (about Shs1.1 billion) from Confederation of African Football (CAF) as prize money for Uganda Cranes after the team finished third in Group B at the ongoing CHAN tournament in Algeria.
The winner will receive $2 million, an increase from Morocco’s $1.25 million for winning the 2020 edition in Cameroon.
Also, before the tournament, FUFA received Shs2 billion from the government to prepare for the competition.