The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has confirmed receipt of $500,000 from world football governing body FIFA in the form of a COVID-19 relief grant.
A coronavirus relief plan for world football which could cost up to £1.2 billion ($1.5bn) was announced by FIFA in late June this year.
All FIFA member associations (which includes FUFA) were to be given a universal solidarity grant of $1m, with an additional $500,000 grant specifically for women’s football.
The FUFA executive met yesterday to discuss the allocation of the received funds to aid the countrys most popular sport.
“FUFA wishes to announce receipt of USD 500,000 being the first part of the Solidarity Grant earlier applied for and approved by FIFA,” the Federation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Edgar Watson acknowledged.
As stipulated in the regulations, funds should be transferred directly to the beneficiarys bank account within the next 14 days; a guideline the executives had to clarify for effectiveness of the funds.
With the increased demand for gender equality in the sport, the women’s football was not left out in the quest for financial aid.
“FUFA is in the process of applying for the women’s football grant and all stakeholders will be informed of any developments in this regard as soon as they occur,” Watson continued.
Further information from FUFA house; there has been the elephant in the room about the resumption of sports in Uganda, football in particular as far FUFA is concerned. The federation, together with the National Council for Sports have been engaged in several consultative meetings with the government officials to foster a safer and better way to have action back on the fields. With the latest sequel of these meetings being a day ago, the federation said there’s hope the green light with soon be given.
The nation’s top division ended prematurely with the pandemics occurrence in March, crowning the then table leaders Vipers as champions since 80% of the games had been played.
The champions, alongside KCCA were granted the honor to represent the country in the CAF Confederations Cup; the equivalent of UEFA Champions League in Africa.
