With the December 1 FUFA polling approaching, Ugandan footballers at home and abroad support Hajji Abbas Kaawaase Mukasa over incumbent President Denis Obua, Mujib Kasule told The Monitor.

Kasule studies at Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) in the United States and captains the school’s soccer team. However, he has maintained contact with a vast network of Ugandan football players, in Uganda, in the U.S., and elsewhere. And based on extensive conversations he has had with these players about the upcoming election, he said, "I know they are all supporting Kawaase."

Among these supporters of the challenger Kawaase, count Kasule as among the most fervent. The former KCC striker graduated from Kibuli SS, and he is loyal to Kawaase, his former headmaster.

"He is an administrator," Kasule said of Kawaase. "That is what Ugandan football needs."

Geoffrey Bukohore, former defender for Express and Villa and now a student at Virginia Intermont College in the U.S., also studied at Kibuli and supports Kawaase for his administrative skills. In contrast, Bukohore described Obua’s tenure as chaotic and corrupt. "The national team doesn’t have uniforms, the players are not paid," Bukohore said. He added, "[FUFA leaders] don’t tell the truth, and they are very disorganized. We need someone who can organize and tell the truth, tell us where the money goes."

Kasule, too, stressed that Kawaase is upstanding and guided by principle, not greed. "To him, it doesn’t matter who you are," said Kasule. "If you’re wrong, you’re wrong. He’s going to be neutral."

While Kasule and Bukohore have been physically cut off from Ugandan football for some time, Kasule said the Ugandan footballers studying at U.S. colleges keep close tabs on the home front. For the eight Ugandans among the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, it is a daily ritual to read the sports pages of The Monitor and New Vision each morning online, checking for scores and, recently, for election updates.

To Kasule, the storyline is clear. "Football has been on the decline," he said. "It is going down the drain. We are in a ditch and we need a football prophet to bring us out. Kawaase is such a man for such a place."

"He is going to develop the game right from the roots, right from schools," Kasule added. He also said Kawaase would improve the welfare of players, forge links between players and administrators, and make players feel they are improving their game.

Suleman Tenywa of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew told Kasule he would "do anything to go back and play for the nation, to play for someone he knows is straight-up," according to Kasule.

Kawaase was not sure he would run this summer, but when Kasule was home for holidays, he pleaded with his former headmaster to run.

"We need someone who is fair, with experience, with maturity, and with a sense of administration, which he really has," Kasule said. "Kawaase is the best headmaster in Uganda. Kibuli is doing well in academics and sports, all because of this gentleman."