The celebratory mood of the outstanding performance of the National Netball team, the She-Cranes, was trampled on at the Serena Hotel in Kampala when Fred Mugerwa, the head coach issued a strong ultimatum regarding his future with the team.
In the celebration evening party, which was attended by sports stakeholders in the country, including the State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang, bold Mugerwa threatened to drop the mantle of head coach over silly pay and insults from some of the coaches he trained.
“To me I think, enough is enough. I may not renew my contract. It is on a bitter note because I cannot be abused and not paid. If I were being paid, I would say it’s because I am being paid, but I am a volunteer,” he said.
Mugerwa revealed that he was once accused of having sexual affairs with the team players, yet no one among them has ever come out to prove it true.
“Every time I go on social media, it is blame and abuse. I have a family and grandchildren, some of these people are people that I trained—the so-called coaches,” he said.
Commenting on the salary, Mugerwa noted that he only receives peanuts as allowances, stating that he has never received a salary apart from the UGX 500,000 he received in 2021 on return from Namibia.
He, however, appealed to the government to continue investing in the sports infrastructure in order to revamp the sports sector in the country.
He also commended the government and private sponsors for their overwhelming support, stating that it has been the pivot of the team’s winning performance in Namibia and elsewhere.
