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In the Uganda Premier League (UPL), a strange irony defines matchdays.
We see some of the most technically-gifted football played by institutional giants like KCCA FC, URA FC, and UPDF FC, yet the stands often remain hauntingly empty.
Meanwhile, a community-rooted club, even one struggling in the bottom half of the table, can still command a roaring crowd. This disconnect is not about the quality of the grass; it is about ownership.
To save the soul and the future of Ugandan football, we must move away from the “Institutional Model” and embrace the “Community-Cooperative Model.”
THE PROBLEM WITH “AUTHORITY” FOOTBALL
Institutional clubs are born from the departments of government bodies. While this provides initial financial stability, it creates a ‘glass ceiling’ for growth. Supporting a team like URA FC often feels like supporting a tax return.
There is no historical bloodline connecting the community to the boardroom. These clubs are often viewed as professional but cold offices that happen to play football. Furthermore, institutional clubs suffer from ‘Successor Risk.’
History is littered with corpses of teams like State House FC or Coffee FC. When a football-loving CEO is replaced by someone who prefers budget-cutting, the club’s funding vanishes. Relying on a government budget is not a long-term strategy; it’s a temporary lease on life.
HE COMMUNITY-COOPERATIVE SOLUTION: FANS AS STAKEHOLDERS
Imagine if our clubs transitioned into cooperatives, similar to the Socio model of Real Madrid or the 50+1 rule in Germany. Here, the club isn’t owned by an authority; it is owned by thousands of registered members.
This isn’t just romantic, it’s a financial powerhouse. If 50,000 fans paid a monthly membership fee of Shs 10,000, the club would generate Shs 500 million every month. This people-power funding is more sustainable than any government grant because it isn’t tied to an election cycle. It belongs to the people who will never stop loving the badge.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE FAN?
Someone will ask: “Why should a fan pay if they don’t get a cash dividend?” In a cooperative, the profit is returned through Value Reinjection and Executive Power.
First, members get the Member Price – guaranteed discounts on tickets and jerseys that often exceed the cost of the membership itself. Second, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), a fan isn’t just a spectator; they are a voter.
Under a “Member Trust” structure, like the one recently adopted by SC Villa – fans pay a subscription (for example Shs 50,000 annually) to become part-owners. They gain the right to elect the Club President and decide the club’s long-term direction.
The profit is a better stadium, a more competitive team, and the absolute security that the club cannot be shut down by a bored bureaucrat.
LOCAL LESSONS: VILLA, BUSOGA UNITED, ONDUPARAKA
We are already seeing the seeds of this in Uganda. SC Villa has moved toward the Villa Members Trust, aiming to put the club’s assets in the hands of the fans to end the Big Man syndrome.
Similarly, Onduparaka FC proved that a community-led spirit could turn a small village team into a national sensation with a fan base that outshone the city giants. When the fans felt the club was theirs, they funded the team bus and travelled across the country in droves.
Yet these successes were built on passion, not protected ownership. Without formal cooperative structures to lock in community control, transparent governance, and secured member rights, the momentum eventually faded – proving that spirit alone is not enough without systems.
WAY FORWARD
The UPL should incentivize this transition. We need teams rooted in the geography and the hearts of Ugandans, not just in the payrolls of ministries.
When a fan feels like an owner, they don’t just show up for big games; they show up to protect their investment. By moving toward a community-cooperative model, we solve the lack of fans and the “sudden death” of clubs when a benefactor leaves.
It is time to take the beautiful game out of the government offices and give it back to the people. After all, a club without a community is just a company in shorts.
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