By Ashraf Ajobe Habib
President Yoweri Museveni Monday received the World Cup at State House and then roared that he expects the Cranes to win it.
The World Cup is in the country courtesy of Coca Cola who are moving it to 51 countries on the continent. The trophy will be paraded at the Cricket Oval in Lugogo for public viewing Tuesday.
President Museveni was in the company of FIFA and Coca Cola officials. By his side were also ministers Godfrey Kiwanda, Mwesigye Rukutana and David Bahati.
Here below is President Museveni’s speech while receiving the iconic trophy at State House.
It was my pleasure today to receive the World Cup Trophy at State House, Entebbe. I welcome the World Cup Trophy and the FIFA delegation traveling with the trophy.
Uganda is a footballing country and we hope to, at one time, win this cup and retain it in Uganda. This may take a few years considering that national teams from more developed countries train under very scientific and technologically advanced situations.
However, Uganda with raw football talent almost qualified last year for the 2018 World Cup Finals from Africa’s Group “E”. We were only beaten by Egypt 1-0, which narrowly progressed to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals. Uganda was second in the group with 9 points.
This World Cup Trophy visit is a rare opportunity for Uganda as not all countries will have the opportunity to host it. This visit is also symbolic in that it shows FIFA’s confidence in Uganda by recognizing our international competitive football abilities.
The trophy’s presence here will also draw global attention and tourism to our country. While Uganda may not have qualified for the 2018 World Cup finals, our own team and football supporters can have the opportunity to witness this celebrated trophy.
The Government of Uganda appreciates and values sports as a tool for entertainment, leisure, and competition that market our country. But we also appreciate football and other sports for enhancing good health, team building and providing opportunity for employment and business.
Uganda is now ranked 71st out of 206 countries in the FIFA World ranking and with the commitment of our football administrators, and with increased government support, we shall continue to improve on Uganda’s ranking, until we reach the World Cup Finals, hopefully in 2022.
I congratulate the Uganda Cranes therefore for a job well done in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and also congratulate FUFA and the Ministry of Education and Sports for the guidance and support to our National Team, and urge you to keep the efforts up.
To the Trophy Team from FIFA, I thank you and wish you an enjoyable tour of Uganda.
