Mujib Kasule, one of the football club owners and investors in Uganda, has revealed that investing in the sport in the country is more like doing charity than running a profitable business.
Kasule, who owns the 2019 Uganda Cup winners Proline FC and the Proline Soccer Academy, stated that the Ugandan football landscape has not yet matured to the point where the sport can be considered a lucrative commercial venture.
He said this during an appearance on the “Inside Sport” program on NBS Sport that aired on Monday, June 17th.
“People who are investing in football are almost doing charity within companies, because they are just putting in money but nothing is coming back, but whatever little they are putting in is helping the game to stand,” Kasule said.
The business owner, who also played as a striker for the Kampala City Council (KCC), now known as KCCA FC, explained that club owners do it for the love of the game, and despite not seeing financial returns, their contributions are still benefiting and sustaining the football industry in Uganda.
“Also, they’re employing those who play and those who work around the club. So personal money goes in, and then it employs these people, but the owners know that they’re going to make losses,” he added.
The former Vice President of FUFA also acknowledged that club owners in Uganda often make financial projections and calculations, only to find that the expected profits do not materialise.
“There’s one thing going into a business. You calculate and make projections of profits you’ll make, but then things turn up not as you’d expected,” he said. “Going into football you know that you’re going to make a loss.” He concluded.
