Has media failed its duty in football?
Some of my most trusted friends in life are sports journalists who candidly tell me what is  right or wrong without fear or favour. I take their criticism without feeling offended and many have helped shape my football  decisions. Let me bell the cat. Theres a saying that, unlike the brain, the stomach will tell you  if empty or full. This is the exact approach any leader should take, especially when presiding over a public good like football. An independent and professional media plays the role of a public watchdog, demands accountability, and is an agenda-setter. Unfortunately, I have recently noticed that some elements in the media have become part and parcel of the cartel that is gagging sport, particularly football. Many practicing journalists from respectable media houses now openly pass off as  consultants or influencers of Fufa, something that has erased the line between  professionalism and support for an institution. Perhaps this has become a lucrative goldmine  to the extent that sports scribes are always jostling for positions in Fufa, National Council of  Sports and Uganda Olympic Committee. I am not against those who seek to change careers  but those who continue to hoodwink the public that they are independent whereas not. Understandably, these journalists mostly do so in return for financial favours or trips abroad  for sporting events. However, this should not come at the cost of selling the soul. For one, Fufas manipulative machinations have found soft ground in this section of the  media actors and currently, the federation selectively chooses which journos are accorded  local and international match accreditations, attend major sports events, national team  travels, and media cocktails. This has further compromised the profession to abandon its  noble role of fair reporting and accountability seekers on behalf of the unsuspecting public. This needs to change if the sports media is to regain the respect it commanded during the  days of fine brains like Kevin Aliro, Rashid Mudin, Kenneth Matovu, Louis Jadwong, Mark  Ssali, Wangwe Mulakha, and Francis Batte, among others. No corrupt sports administrator was safe when info reached Joseph Kabuleta but today, the  disgraced Moses Magogo openly derides respectable journalists like James Bakama with  support from some media circles. I am strengthened by the fact that we still have some credible names like Hassan Badru  Zziwa, Robert Madoi, Johnson Musinguzi, and Aldrine Nsubuga, among others, but I know a number of sports scribes who are affiliates of Fufa. A one-time close media friend confided in me that he returned to Magogos good books  because he was promised to get the position of Fufa Communications Director currently held  by Ahmed Hussein. It is now coming to three years and he is still not sure he will get it. I am told many more journalists have been promised the same position or provided national  teams media roles and Fufa committee memberships as bait to water down their criticism. Oftentimes, these journalists-turned-sycophants relay Fufas disparaging catchwords such  as saboteur or anti-football to fend off criticism from people like me. It is always an attempt to suppress legitimate viewpoints. I have seen some media  commentators suggest that it is both wrong and mean to be unsupportive of Magogos Fufa  leadership yet they will be hard-pressed to comment on the corruption and lack of  accountability in Fufa. A one-time Magogo critic who turned around after being offered a seat in Fufa recently said those who criticize the federation do so to create sympathy. I take deep offence. That to be anti-Magogo is anti-Fufa. How weird! That would be siding with the oppressor. Instead, I am totally pro-football in that sense. What I call pro-football people are those that  dont see Magogo and his backers as a force for the good of the game. Real football lovers  vehemently dissent corruption, manipulation of rules to ring-fence positions, impunity, and  self-aggrandizement. So, while some media personalities have become part of the scourge affecting football, Im  nourished immensely by those that question sports authorities and consistently oppose  abuse of office. Just look at the dreadful treatment of players at the 2019 Afcon. It was an open secret but  some members of the media contingent at the tournament were compromised to cover it up and it took the players open revolt for their plight to be known.