FUFA has ruled that “there’s no case” in Onduparaka’s petition against Kataka, in which the Caterpillars accused Lufumbi of using an ineligible player in their 2-1 win in the Big League match played on 24th March at Mbale Stadium.
The Arua-based club sought to understand ‘how a (Kataka) player could play for three clubs in one season’, violating Article 5.4 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
The article provides that: “Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, a player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs.”
Onduparaka therefore appealed to FUFA that Kataka should lose the said match by forfeiture for fielding Mohammed Nsereko, stating that the player was ineligible to play for them in the second round, having also played for Gaddafi and Kaaro Karungi in the first round.
The federation investigated, and established that the youngster in question is just another beneficiary of the newly FUFA-approved regulations regarding the technical development of players, where players under the age of 21 were/are allowed to play for both the parent club and a secondary club to enhance their development by increasing their playing time.
Under the same arrangement, Nsereko, who was registered and licensed with Uganda Premier League side Gaddafi as the parent club was also given a license to play in the second division (Big League) with Kaaro Karungi in the first round of the 2023/24 season.
“During the first round of the 2023/2024 season and as envisaged under the regulations, he (Nsereko) played in matches for both Gaddafi and Kaaro Karungi, FUFA confirmed.
In the (January transfer) secondary registration period of the 2023/24 season, the player was permanently transferred to Kataka for the second round of the season and was granted a license to play for Kataka.
An instant hit! The pacy winger has since played in every single game for the Mbale-based club, and shone the brightest in a couple of their fixtures, mostly at home, attracting so much attention.
What The FUFA Disciplinary Panel Considered
The FDP provided a few facts, and determined that the player (Nsereko) was legible to play for Kataka despite having already played in matches for two other clubs in the same season.
One, the panel recognized that the complainant (Onduparaka) asserted that the player (Nsereko) was ineligible to play against them as a result of Article 5.4 of the FIFA RSTP.
However, the panel also recognized that the petitioner did not consider article 5.5 of the FIFA RSTP which supplements article 5.4.
For purposes of completeness, the panel highlighted article 5.5 of the FIFA RSTP 2023 May Edition which provides that;
“Under all circumstances, due consideration must be given to the sporting integrity of the competition. In particular, a player may not play official matches for more than two clubs competing in the same national championship or cup during the same season, subject to stricter individual competition regulations of member associations.”
“Whereas FIFA is responsible for the international football regulatory framework, under this framework, FIFA also grants member associations autonomy to regulate matters of a purely domestic nature. The registration of players and eligibility of players to participate in official matches for their Clubs falls under the powers of each association,” FUFA added.
In pursuance of the above, the FUFA executive committee approved amendments to the player registration and eligibility rules introducing the principle of double licensing of young players (U-21) where these players are granted a ‘Twin License’.
Under the definitions sections of the FUFA Competition Rules 2023, a “Twin License” means the license issued to a player to be eligible to play FUFA official matches for two (2) different clubs for a half-season.
Under Article 19(28) of the same rules, its provided that this license shall be issued for a minimum of half a season and shall automatically expire at the beginning of the next player registration window unless renewed and that this renewal shall only be permitted to the same secondary club within a season.
“Nsereko was a beneficiary of these new amendments a result of which he played in matches for his parent Club Gaddafi and the secondary owner Kaaro Karungi in the first round of the 2023/2024 season. In the secondary registration period, the player’s registration was permanently transferred to Kataka,” FUFA clarified.
The panel, therefore determined that the Player was eligible, consider the sporting integrity of the Competition in particular whether the player played official matches for more than two clubs competing in the same National championship or cup during the same season.
Whereas the petitioner relied on article 5.4 of the FIFA RSPT, the panel relied on article 5.5 of the FIFA RSTP May 2023 edition which provides clarity especially that a player may not play official matches for more than two clubs competing in the same national championship or cup during the same season.
The Panel noted that it is undisputed that Nsereko played for Gadaffi in the first Division League in the first-round of 2023/24 season and during the secondary registration period the player was transferred permanently Kataka a club in the Second Division League.
The panel also recognized that under the double licensing regulations,the same player played for Kaaro Karungi a second division club in the same season as secondary player.
Upon critical analysis of the article 5.5. of the FIFA RSTP, which gives more clarity on Article 5.4 cited by the petitioner, the player could not play for more than two clubs competing in the same national championship (league) or Cup during the same season.
FUFA’s Final Verdict In Detail
To validate Nsereko’s eligibility to play for Kataka, FUFA noted that;
“The facts indicate that during the season of 2023/24 the player (Nsereko) did not play for more than two clubs in the same league/championship as prohibited by article 5.5. of the FIFA RSTP.
“During the season of 2023/24, the player played for only Kaaro Karungi in the second division league.
“The games played by the player in Gadaffi, a first division league (a different league) do not count as far as interpretation of article 5.5 of the FIFA RSTP is concerned.”
“Therefore, since the FIFA Regulations bind the National (FUFA) Regulations, the panel finds that the player Nsereko Mohammed was eligible to play for Kataka and he was not in breach of the FIFA Regulations.”
Further, the panel found that the player playing for Kaaro Karungi as secondary player in the first round of the 2023/24 season did not in any way affect the integrity of the game which is a core principle of the regulations.
Consequently, Onduparaka’s petition was dismissed!
