The government, through the national council of sports (NCS) is set to cut the Federation of Uganda football associations (FUFA) by half, this website has reliably been told.
FUFA has been getting close to Shs20bn per year, as the biggest feeder off the Shs48bn government funding to sports through the national council of sports (NCS).
At the start of this 2026/27 financial in July, NCS general secretary Dr. Bernard Ogwel announced that FUFA would no longer receive a fixed, parliament-approved specific allocation (previously Shs 10 billion annually) automatically set aside from the national sports budget.
“I want to announce that effective this financial year, there is no ring-fencing for any sports federation or organization. Council is the determinant of the needs of every federation and when they determine, they will give money available. Unlike in the previous where parliament approved particular figures that we must only implement, that one has been revoked and now will be determined based on your need and activity. And I can confirm that we have Sh43bn in support for sports promotion and development to those federations and associations in this financial year and I already have 50% of that money with us,” Ogwel told the media.
With the actualization of the move, FUFA retains less than Shs10bn of their previous funding championed by parliament under embattled former Speaker Anita Among -the wife to FUFA president Moses Magogo.
“It is true FUFA has many national teams but we can’t fund all. Federations have look for their other sources of revenue. They (FUFA) have sponsors, sell merchandise, get gate collections, FIFA funding among others. Where does that money go? Like any other federations, our priority is the senior national teams and the government will provide all the necessary support, starting with over Shs5bn for Afcon 2027 preparations. We admit that football as a sport is bigger than other disciplines in terms of coverage, needs and engagement. This is why FUFA will continue to get a higher portion of government funding, but with assured accountability and needs assessment,” a high-ranking government source opened up on request of anonymity pending the official announcement.
Fufa’s working relationship with government (NCS) has grown grey hair over time, with the State minister for sports Peter Ogwang clashing FUFA president Moses Magogo as the latter tried to present to the education committee of parliament his entity’s Shs72bn supplementary budget request in January for the financial year 2026/27 without government knowledge.
Following the clash, a meeting happened to iron out issues and the football body agreed to work under NCS as the superviors. This new working agreement, however, looks more plastic than reality after NCS regained full authority via both the new sports Act and leadership at parliament.
An official at FUFA informally told this website that the impact of the funding reduction will be felt with time because the move is “emotional”.
In what looks to be the immediate impact of the budget slicing, FUFA on September 1st, 2026, announced that the Uganda U-23 National Team (The Kobs) has been withdrawn from the AFCON U-23 Qualifiers. Uganda was due to play Ethiopia over two legs between 20th September and 6th October 2026.
FUFA’s reason however, was that “the Government has prioritised the Uganda Cranes’ preparations for AFCON 2027 for FY 2026/7, it is only imperative that this decision is painfully made now, than later. This affects the previous generation of the U20 (Boys).”
The statement on the FUFA website also details upcoming national team engagements as listed below.
This is a developing story and this website did not officially contact NCS and FUFA over the matter.
