Not even a quarter of the number expected to fill Namboole stadium to it’s capacity attended the Uganda Cranes Vs Malawi flames match.

As days pass by, Uganda last had a huge number of fans to capacity when it played countries like Kenya, Zambia, and may be Ghana which Uganda won 1-0 courtesy of Savio Kabugo.

One would say that since the game was broadcasted live on a local television channel ‘Sanyuka Tv’ could be the reason why a certain group of fans would choose to watch from television at home than going to Namboole.

Could it be because Uganda was playing a low profile team that had no big names in it? Because it is never the same playing against a team like Gabon where one expects to watch Pierre Emerick Aubameyang being the fact that he trades his football in premier league.

A team like Gabon, Nigeria, Cameroon or Ghana can attract a bigger audience unlike today where Uganda is top seeded and it finds itself in the same groups with South Sudan, Malawi and Burkinafaso  who do not comprise big names in the football circles.

In September 2016, Namboole was filled to capacity when Uganda was playing against Comoros since it was a game that was to determine qualification to the 2017 Africa cup of Nations after 39 years.

Why if one says, the ticket prices were high? Much as there was an early bird ticket that costed 15,000/= then later on Tuesday tickets went as high as 20,000/=, fans feel that when Uganda Cranes is playing teams that seem to be having low profile players, prices should be a bit low, meaning they would rather go to a local video hall (kibanda) or a bar, buy a drink or pay viewing at 2000 shillings.

At this moment, playing 15,000/= or 20,000/= may not be easy for a true Uganda Cranes fan, with transport added to the stadium, one would spend another 30,000/= which many cannot afford.

However, thousands of Ugandans go for outings like Zina Fest, Tuula Gatukube where they spend like 100,000/= with ease, though still FUFA needs to step up its marketing, so that potential spectators get value for money.

FUFA also has a responsibility to help create stars out of the current team, that people can identify with. Players like David Obua, Ibrahim Ssekajja and Geoffrey Massa had alot of attraction and when you look into the team available now, its only Denis Masinde Onyango with much fame on the team.