Uganda football team pulls out of CHAN tournament

Uganda’s national football team, the Cranes, has pulled out of the African Nations Championship tournament due to a lack of funds, a senior official told AFP on Wednesday.

The tournament is due to be held in Algeria next month but the Ugandan team will not be participating because of the government’s failure to provide the promised funding, said Moses Magogo, president of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations.

“A hard decision was taken to pull the Cranes out of CHAN finals because without funds there is no other available option,” Magogo said. 

“It’s a very disappointing situation especially (for) the players, the coaches that have made this journey to the finals and to the fans but this is a decision we took… painfully” he added. 

The finance ministry did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

This is not the first time Uganda is pulling out of sporting engagements due to financial constraints. 

In October this year, the U-23 men’s football team was withdrawn from the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier because of a lack of money. 

In September 2021, Uganda’s national basketball team risked being kicked out of the AfroBasket championships in Rwanda after initially failing to clear their hotel bill. 

Uganda’s parliament has set up a committee to investigate the state-run National Council of Sports following allegations that officials asked for kickbacks to release budgeted funds to sports bodies in the country.