Former SC Villa president and outspoken football critic Ben Misagga has waded into the ongoing standoff between Vipers SC and the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), warning that the dispute threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the 2025/26 Uganda Premier League.
In a fiery opinion piece published in both the Daily Monitor and The Observer, Misagga painted a picture of a football ecosystem on the brink, one where power politics, institutional manipulation, and governance decay have replaced sporting integrity.
“Dr. Mulindwa is not fighting for Vipers alone; he is fighting a rearguard action for the very principle of fair governance, a concept FUFA has long since abandoned. The timing of FUFA’s imposition of a new league format is a masterclass in cynicism, not sporting integrity,” Misagga wrote.
Misagga’s sharp critique comes amid an escalating war of words between FUFA president Moses Magogo and Vipers SC boss Dr. Lawrence Mulindwa, who has openly rejected the federation’s newly introduced league reforms.
Misagga accused Magogo of politicizing the sport and weaponizing state influence to silence dissent, describing the ongoing developments as political blackmail disguised as football reform.
“Magogo, a seasoned political operator, deliberately chose the heat of the 2026 election campaign, knowing the Minister of Education and Sports, First Lady Janet Museveni, would be too occupied to intervene. He has weaponized the state machinery, creating a toxic narrative that any club opposing his new league format is an enemy of the government. This is not football administration; it is political blackmail,” he charged.
Misagga further dissected the Uganda Premier League’s internal structure, saying FUFA’s reforms have bulldozed over the reality that clubs are not built alike a fatal flaw in Magogo’s so-called modernization drive.
“The UPL comprises three distinct categories: institutional clubs, community clubs run as limited companies, and community clubs under trusts. They have different drivers, different pressures, and cannot be treated as one bloc. Yet, FUFA’s reforms bulldoze these critical differences,” he explained.
According to Misagga, the majority of clubs in the league are institutional sides that are vulnerable to political influence, their survival tethered to government goodwill, a dynamic he believes Magogo has exploited for personal and political gain.
“For Magogo, this subservience extends to parliament, where he is an MP for Budiope East. He has created a political echo chamber that silences dissent from institutional clubs,” Misagga noted.
In his closing remarks, Misagga warned that the ongoing standoff is not merely about Vipers’ resistance but a battle for the future of football governance in Uganda.
“Mulindwa’s battle is existential, if Vipers fall, so too will the last bastion of independence in our football. The league’s future will be one of obedience, not competition,” he cautioned.
