Innocent Ndawula
29 August 2007
Namboole — It is not as if the self-promoting Uganda-Niger game needed any extra hype, but the break-a-leg Michael Ezra offer of $100,000 (approximately Shs170m) in prize money has sent it to frenzied heights.
Reliable information from the new sports website; www.touchdownug.com, players and coaches have confessed since Ezra announced the record-breaking offer that they will lay it all on the line for the chance to play at the MTN African Nations Cup finals in Ghana, and the opportunity to pocket the kind of cash that has prior-to been unheard of in Ugandan sport.
Victory will see coach Laszlo Csaba bag $15,000, (Shs25m), his two assistants Polly Ouma and Jackson Mayanja $2,500 (Shs4.25m) each, and the 16 players who make the team on match day a whopping $5,000 (Shs8.5m) each.
"I am coming down on September 3, this is a money game man," talisman David Obua told Daily Monitor on phone from South Africa yesterday.
"I would like to thank Michael Ezra from the bottom of my heart, he has been out there for us for a long time. The money is amazing, the guys will certainly be happy and determined to win it," he added.
Obua can't wait.
"This is the most important game of my life. I have been thinking about it every day, you have no idea," he confessed.
Dennis Onyango, Uganda 's first choice goalkeeper who has been a doubt for the game following knee surgery, was excited about the hefty prize money too.
"I am back and fully fit. I have been training with the team for two days and I am part of the squad travelling to Durban for the Super 8 semi-final clash against Orlando Pirates," the Super Sport United goalie also said on phone yesterday.
"It is an exciting offer from Ezra and hopefully I will be part of the team trying to win it. The initial list for The Cranes did not include me, but I am now available for selection. If the people at Fufa send the letter to the club, I will be ready.
"The money will be very good, but on the other hand winning the game and going to the Nations Cup will be an opportunity to make even more," the keeper added.
Coach Laszlo Csaba said it was important to remember that the money was for a win and nothing else.
"We need to focus on the task at hand and not think too much about the money until the time is right. Of course I have deep respect for Ezra, not just for this money but also for buying the tickets to Niger when we were stranded. He is a nice man for doing this," Csaba said.
September 1 friendly
Uganda v Tanzania
September 8
Uganda v Niger
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