By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has said it paid all Uganda Cranes players and as such, FUFA owes no player any monies.
This came after the Cranes players boycotted Tuesday’s training over unpaid allowances amounting to Shs22M, which was promised to them after winning DR Congo and drawing with Zimbabwe in the ongoing AFCON 2019 tournament in Cairo.
According to a statement released by FUFA on Wednesday, a total of Shs2 billion has been paid to players, with each one getting Shs55M as of July 2, 2019, with more daily allowances and winning bonuses awaiting to paid to each player in time. FUFA adds that much as each player signed a code of conduct before being allowed into the camp, it is disappointing that they have opted to renegotiate the terms after qualifying to the round of 16.
They (FUFA) have since asked the players to respect the signed Code of Conduct so that all issues at hand are solved. The Cranes have only today and tomorrow to train ahead of the Friday clash with Senegal.
SpyUganda.com has established that by the time the players laid down their tools, the Zimbabwe draw bonus payment had not been effected. However, they were later paid (electronically transferred) onto their accounts on Tuesday.
One player who requested not to be revealed because of the sensitivity of the matter acknowledged receipt of all the daily bonuses from Kampala, Abu Dhabi and the match-winning bonus for the DR Congo game, with the hope of getting the Zimbabwe draw money.
“It is true we did not train on Tuesday because we agreed as a group for all the 23 players in show of solidarity that all the pending cases of bonuses are brought to book and solved amicably. Sometimes, as players we need some respect,” he said.
“Now, all the issues are solved and we are focused for the Senegal game, the breakdown of the monies paid per player right from the camp in Kampala and Abu Dhabi was released, Only one player (out of the 23) has not yet received the payments because of pending issues with his bank account,” the Cranes player added.
Uganda Cranes Players’ Bonuses:
420 USD for the Camp in Uganda (14 days)
5,100 USD for the Abu Dhabi Camp (34 days ending 30th June 2019)
4,000 USD for the Winning Bonus of the DR Congo match
2,000 USD for the Draw against Zimbabwe
Round of 16 to Quarters (Winning) – $ 5000 each
Round of 8 (Quarter final) – $ 7000 each
Round of 4 (Semifinal) – $ 9000 each
Final – $ 14,630
The players are therefore expected to train on Wednesday night at the Arab Contractors Stadium in preparation for the round of 16 duel against Senegal on Friday.
