Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, FUFA’s 3rd Vice President and supposed representative of Uganda Premier League (UPL) clubs, has done the unimaginable: openly mocking the very clubs she is meant to serve.
In a fiery interview with NBS Sport, Nakiwala boasted that FUFA “owns the league” and “has powers to dissolve it if we want.”
That single statement perfectly sums up the toxic power dynamics suffocating Ugandan football: FUFA sees itself not as a governing body, but as an untouchable monarchy, ruling the sport rather than nurturing it.
This latest fiasco is part of an escalating row between FUFA and UPL clubs over competition reforms engineered by FA president Moses Magogo.
A number of clubs have rejected Magogo’s proposed new league format, which they argue was forced through without meaningful consultation.
Instead of dialogue, FUFA has doubled down with intimidation, dangling the promise of Shs 3.4 billion in funding while warning clubs they risk missing out of the ‘development fund’ if they don’t fall in line. This is not leadership, it’s blackmail.
.@nakiwalafk: “FUFA owns the league. If it were possible, we could even dissolve it completely.”#NBSLTS #NBSportUpdates pic.twitter.com/yFp2Yx1r81
— NBS Sport (@NBSportUg) September 4, 2025
Nakiwala’s credibility as a club representative is in tatters. She proudly cited securing Shs 50 million per club at an AGM in Gulu three years ago, yet not a single coin has been delivered.
Her loyalty clearly lies with FUFA’s political machinery, not the struggling clubs she claims to represent. The gap between rhetoric and reality is staggering.
Clubs have now reportedly sought the intervention of Education and Sports Minister Janet Kataha Museveni to resolve this dispute. It says everything that clubs feel they must bypass FUFA to be heard.
“We can wake up and just abolish the League,”- FUFA 3rd Vice President, Florence Nakiwala Kiyinji.
Real or a bit of arrogance?#NBLSTS #NBSportUpdates pic.twitter.com/UgTdkdQAAp
— NBS Sport (@NBSportUg) September 4, 2025
This is not the first time FUFA has been accused of heavy-handedness, over the years, criticism of opaque finances, top-down reforms, and disregard for clubs has grown louder.
Nakiwala’s brazen remarks should outrage every football fan in Uganda. The league does not “belong” to FUFA; it belongs to the clubs, players, and fans who pour their resources, sweat, and passion into the game. FUFA’s job is to govern, not threaten. The federation’s arrogance, coupled with years of unfulfilled promises, is turning Ugandan football into a political circus rather than a professional sport.
Ugandan football is crying out for reform, but not the kind Magogo and Nakiwala are pushing. The clubs are right to stand their ground. FUFA must be reminded that its power comes from the football ecosystem, not the other way around. Nakiwala’s threats are more than an insult; they’re proof of a governing body that has lost touch with reality. If FUFA truly wants a competitive and sustainable league, it needs to listen, not dictate.
