Who owns the club? FUFA explain why Arua Hill, Busoga United could be relegated

Arua Hill may not feature in the league in the future|AruaHill image

UPL Who owns the club? FUFA explain why Arua Hill, Busoga United could be relegated

Fred Mwambu • 12:16 - 02.08.2023

Arua Hill and Busoga United have been suspended temporarily. They will not be included in the draft fixtures as they seek to appeal the decision by the FUFA Club Licensing Committee.

FUFA’s move to exclude Arua Hill and Busoga United from the 2023/24 StarTimes Uganda Premier League has aroused a lot of debate.

The two clubs have been suspended temporarily and will not be included in the draft fixtures as they seek to appeal the decision by the FUFA Club Licensing Committee.

“Two (2) clubs, Busoga United FC and Arua Hill SC, have failed to submit the minimum mandatory requirements as per the Club Licensing regulations,” FUFA communicated on Wednesday morning.

Licensing rules

The federation has given a seven-day ultimatum for the two clubs to fulfil what they missed lest they be sent down to the FUFA Big League.

The Club Licensing has revealed that the two clubs failed to fulfil the mandatory requirements.

Under the current FUFA Club Licensing Rules (CLR), there are three categories of criteria that a club is required to fulfil.

Financial accounts

Criteria “A” is mandatory and is not subjected to any evaluation test, whether a club has fulfilled or not.

This comprises the club’s financial status that requires submission of the annual audited financial statements, proof from the bank that the club’s chief executive officer is a signatory of the club account and proof of the players' and coaches’ salary every three months.

Arua Hill failed to provide proof for the former two by the close of business on July 31st.

The sporting requirements provide that a club must possess an academy that takes part in the FUFA Juniors League and duly signed contracts of at least 15 players.

Kyetume failed to fulfill this requirement and were relegated to the FUFA Big League last season.

The other requirements in Criteria A include the infrastructure and the administration and its personnel.

Under infrastructure, a club must submit a stadium that meets the minimum standards either under their full ownership or provide a legally binding agreement with the owner of the facility.

This explains why the newly-promoted Kitara, Mbarara City and NEC have been forced to shift from the grounds that they used last season.

The club must also own a fully-functional office space, a CEO, a head coach with a minimum CAF B diploma, an assistant with a CAF B, a goalkeeping coach and a fitness trainer.

Busoga United had failed to provide their physical office address, a qualified assistant coach and audited financial statements.

The Jinja club has, however, confirmed to Pulse Sports that they were late to submit the requirements but have appealed.

The final mandatory requirements necessitate a club to provide its legal and governance structure.

These comprise mainly the club statutes and ownership structure. Arua Hill failed to present this as well.

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