The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has announced the formation of a new Academy Experts Panel tasked with overseeing the registration, inspection, and accreditation of football academies across the country.
According to FUFA, the experts panel will be chaired by Ronnie Kalema, with Ronald Barente serving as vice chairperson.
Other members include Abbey Donaca Ssentongo, Shafic Kigongo, Ayub Khalifan Kiyingi, Emmanuel Kasakya, and Dr Salma S Otika Kairungi. Together, they bring a wealth of experience in football development and administration.
The experts panel will be responsible for reviewing applications from football academies, conducting on-site technical inspections, and submitting a final report on academies that meet the required standards.
Those (academies) deemed compliant will be recommended to the National Council of Sports for official approval.
FUFA Football Development Director Bashir Mutyaba said the panel was formed to improve standards and professionalism in academy football.
He explained that the members would assess academies based on a set of criteria and conduct physical inspections to ensure that only those meeting the minimum requirements are approved.
“FUFA found it necessary to come up with an experts panel, a group of specialists that will be in charge of inspecting the academies,” Mutyaba said.
“It will look at the different criteria that academies must fulfil. The seven members will conduct physical inspections to ensure that only qualifying academies are assessed, evaluated, and recommended.” he added.
The announcement comes amid long-standing calls for Uganda to prioritise investment in football academies to strengthen the talent pipeline for the senior national team.
Countries like Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, and Ivory Coast have already invested heavily in structured academy systems, producing technically skilled players who have gone on to excel at both club and international level.
FUFA’s latest initiative is seen as a step towards replicating that model and raising the standard of Ugandan football.