The Government of Uganda has approved Shs1.5 billion to support efforts by the Federation of Uganda Football Association to recruit footballers of Ugandan heritage from abroad in a bid to strengthen the national team, the Uganda Cranes.
The funding will help facilitate the naturalisation process for players with Ugandan roots who are currently playing professional football in Europe and are eligible to represent Uganda at international level.
FUFA President Moses Magogo revealed the development during an appearance on a sports programme on CBS FM. He explained that the move is part of a broader strategy used by several successful African football nations to strengthen their national teams.
Magogo noted that countries such as Morocco and Senegal have benefited from tapping into players in the diaspora, many of whom were trained in top European academies.
Uganda has already started seeing results from this approach. One of the notable examples is defender Elio Capradossi, who switched allegiance and now represents the Uganda Cranes.
To expand the search, FUFA appointed Mathias Ndawula to identify talented players of Ugandan descent across Europe who may be eligible to play for the national team.
Among the players currently being considered are teenage midfielder Divine Mukasa, who belongs to Manchester City and is currently on loan at Leicester City. Others include goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo of Wrexham AFC, defender Bashir Humphreys who plays for Burnley FC, and defender Joshua Muwana from Crystal Palace FC.
All these players are eligible to represent either England or Uganda through their heritage.
If the naturalisation process is completed in time, some of these players could be available for selection for the Uganda Cranes as early as the upcoming June international window.
