It takes time

I am not one of the people who felt a terrible disappointment after the Uganda Cranes were knocked out of the African Cup of Nations. For me it was enough that they had qualified after 39 years. To make it after that long, long wait was in itself a stellar achievement for which the current team will always be remembered. Now we can build on that, keep qualifying until qualification becomes a culture and a lifestyle rather than a one-in-every-three-decades affair.

It was encouraging to see how organised the Uganda Cranes were and are. One mistake cost us the first match but in the second we were much better and the Pharaohs of Egypt won only because they were hungrier and more experienced.  We really should take pride in our performances.  Players like Ochaya, young Shaban and goalkeeper Onyango showed what we're capable of if we continue working hard.

It always takes time to build something that will stand the test of time.  After 39 years without playing at the big continental stage, the Uganda Cranes were without doubt psychologically rusty and jagged compared to countries like Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt who are used to the big stage. Our ambition from now should be to qualify as consistently as possible because it's from playing often at that level that we shall learn from mistakes and build a strong muscle that will hold us in good stead in the hour of need. 

Someone recently sent me a WhatsApp message that said: "No one gets a sudden rise, not even the sun. It takes time to rise to the peak of success. Just keep your efforts going and be positive." This is a message that the Uganda Cranes can identify with.  I pray for our government to style up and start providing the necessary support, build academies, celebrate our stars tangibly like Idi Amin used to, and we shall be unstoppable. 

Not in soccer alone but in all spheres of life, in all our pursuits should we continue working hard and aiming for the stars. Then we shall get there.