The debate that followed the reported transfer of Allan Okello to Morocco's AS FAR has been useful--not because everyone agreed, but because it forced Ugandan football to confront a question we have avoided for too long: how do we make our football valuable enough for Ugandans to consume, support and invest in?
On August 17, 2026, ASP Rt. Asan Kasingye quoted a post on X reporting that Okello had been sold to AS FAR for Shs4.4 billion. His response was brief but provocative: "We need to learn how to market our players in Uganda. Football is a multi business venture but, we're on 1% battery power."
FUFA president Moses Magogo joined the conversation, arguing that Ugandans have failed to appreciate the importance of supporting domestic football while enthusiastically consuming foreign leagues. His argument was essentially that local following creates money for clubs, enabling them to build capacity and develop players.
A whole day's debate followed. I watched it with interest.
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I agree with parts of both arguments. But from the perspective of communications, marketing and brand building, I believe we are looking at the problem from the wrong end.
Ugandan football does not necessarily have a love problem. It has a communications and product-marketing problem.
People consume what they understand, what they can access, what excites them and what consistently gives them a reason to return.
Consider my own inbox. As the 2026/27 English Premier League season approaches, the competition has already communicated its return to me. I have been reminded about the 380 fixtures, opening-weekend matchups, promoted clubs, new managers and the storylines surrounding the new season.
The football has not even started, yet the competition is already occupying space in my mind. That is not accidental. That is brand management.
The Premier League is not simply selling football matches. It is selling anticipation, rivalries, personalities, statistics, history, entertainment and belonging.
Uganda cannot compete with the Premier League financially. But we can learn from its philosophy: communicate like an organisation that believes its product has value.
A match poster is not a communications strategy. A fixture announcement is not a campaign. And a social media account is not the same thing as a digital brand.
We should stop blaming fans for consuming what is marketed to them.
If a European club gives me fixture reminders, player interviews, injury updates, match previews, statistics, behind-the-scenes footage and transfer stories, while a local club may only post a match poster a day or two before kick-off, what exactly are we expecting the consumer to choose?
Consumers do not randomly develop brand habits. Brands build habits.
Tanzania offers a lesson closer to home. Young Africans and Simba have built enormous supporter cultures around their clubs, while the Tanzanian Premier League has attracted significant commercial and broadcast investment.
The lesson is not that Uganda should copy Tanzania. It is that local football becomes commercially valuable when people are given reasons to watch it, talk about it and identify with it.
This is where the Allan Okello discussion becomes particularly interesting.
Reports indicate that Young Africans acquired Okello from Vipers for approximately $300,000 and later sold him to AS FAR for a reported $1.2 million after an impressive spell in Tanzania.
Whatever the final contractual figures may be, the broader story is important. A Ugandan player moved from Uganda to Tanzania, established himself in a stronger commercial football environment and subsequently attracted a significantly larger reported transfer fee.
So instead of asking only, "Why didn't Uganda sell Allan Okello for Shs4.4 billion?", we should ask what happened between the time he left Uganda and when he became valuable enough to attract that reported fee.
The answer is not simply football ability. Visibility matters. Statistics matter. Storytelling matters. Club and league reputation matter. Broadcast exposure matters. Commercial positioning matters.
A talented player can exist without becoming a valuable football property. The football ecosystem must ensure that talent is seen, understood and properly positioned.
This is where I respectfully challenge FUFA.
Communications and brand building should be treated as football infrastructure. Clubs need training grounds, gyms, medical teams and coaches. They also need professional communications, marketing, content production, commercial development and fan-engagement teams.
A football club without a communications strategy is like a talented player without a scout. The talent may exist, but the market may never discover it.
We need better stories about our players. Imagine if every promising Ugandan footballer had a professional digital profile detailing their journey, academy, statistics, strengths, ambitions and the people who shaped their career.
That is how you turn a footballer into a brand. And when the player becomes a brand, the club benefits. The league benefits. Sponsors benefit. Broadcasters benefit. The national team benefits.
Local football must also become a daily conversation. Match day should be the climax of the story--not the beginning.
Monday can be analysis. Tuesday can be player profiles. Wednesday can be academy stories. Thursday can be tactical previews. Friday can be match anticipation. Saturday can be live coverage. Sunday can be highlights, interviews and fan reactions.
The fan should not have to search for Ugandan football. Ugandan football should constantly find the fan.
I do not believe Ugandans should be told to stop watching the Premier League. That would be unrealistic. Instead, we should ask what it has done right and what we can adapt.
If European football can successfully market itself to Ugandans, why can't Ugandan football successfully market itself to Ugandans?
We have the players, clubs, rivalries, history, Uganda Cranes, school football, women's football, academies and passionate supporters. The raw material is there. What we need is professional storytelling and packaging.
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I would encourage a deliberate investment in five areas: communications, content, data, commercialisation and people.
We need stronger club communications teams, better football content, reliable player data, professionals selling sponsorship and commercial rights, and people employed specifically to do these things.
Uganda does not need to copy the Premier League. We can start small: train club communications officers, improve photography and video production, build better digital platforms and player databases, package weekly stories for broadcasters and turn match days into experiences.
Most importantly, we can make Ugandan football visible every day.
Visibility creates familiarity. Familiarity creates attachment. Attachment creates following. Following creates audiences. Audiences create commercial value. And commercial value creates the resources football needs to develop players.
That is why the Allan Okello transfer should not only make us ask how much Ugandan football is losing. It should make us ask what Ugandan football can become.
We cannot compete with the Premier League's money. But we can compete on our stories, identity, culture and communities.
The future of Ugandan football will not be built only on the pitch. It will also be built in the newsroom, the studio, the phone screen, the boardroom, the stands and the imagination of the fan.
If football is truly a multi-billion-shilling business, communications cannot remain an afterthought. It is part of the game.
Joel Gadafi is a sports administrator, football manager and LLB Candidate
