Zombo, (UG): A sizeable number of ardent football fans who bow to Paidha Black Angels Football Club in Zombo District have expressed their grievances and dissatisfaction about the decisions of club management to give greenlight for concerts/ performing arts to be held on the football pitch of the club.
The disheartened fans are protesting the club’s management’s insatiable love for finance mobilization through the hire of the football pitch by performing arts organisers at the expense of the purpose for which it was established and the aftermath cost of maintenance.
Rooting from 2018 to date, DailyExpress learnt that several non-football events ranging from crusades, trade exhibitions and performing arts live shows are staged on the playground and at one point sponsored by the management of the club.
This publication was made to understand that the most recent events on the pitch featured singer Karungi Sheeba and bearly after months, another musician Spice Diana hosted her “Siri Regular Tour” on Saturday 28th of October. And as if that is not enough, information within corridors of Paidha reveals serial queues of artists to hosted on the same playground before this year ends.
Worsened by the downpours prior to the performance show, the footprints of the multitude of attendees of the shows have left a devastating effect on the pockets of green grasses in the football pitch hence the hopelessness of its quick restoration processes if minimum attention is given as days for commencement of the Regional league games nears.
Taking their grievances on the club’s social media platforms, Bakhit Yaya, the former CEO of the club, conveyed in a statement thus; “Our focus should be on using the pitch sparingly and most times such events should be organized in partnership with other venues and halls in greater Nebbi, we should not only focus on organising events at bar okoro alone.”
DailyExpress also Reckons in line with the paradigma of the then outstanding Pece Stadium of Gulu city that has lost worthiness and accreditation due to live performing arts activities, bar okoro the home of Paidha black angels is not an inch far away from a similar predicament if the management delays to connect the necessary dots.
According to the concerns voiced by some fans that this publication viewed, Isaac Opio P’Ochaki, iterated the recommendations of the preliminary inspection of the pitch, saying in verbatim; “In the preliminary inspections, two weeks ago it was observed that the pitch seems to be used for a lot of non-football activities, the next inspection will be done on Monday and Tuesday with express decisions.”
Any ad-hoc moves by the Regional FUFA team to conduct inspection and accreditation of playgrounds ahead of the commencement of the Season will beyond unreasonable doubt attest to the truthfulness of the claims of hosting non-football ball activities and the management of Paidha black angels football club will tremble under the weight of their own decision to hire out the pitch, as they await reallocation of playground for the home games.
Julius Jacan, a former secretary of the Paidha Black Angels Fans Forum pointed to the challenges of financial incapacitation of the club to facilitate games, if the playground is not accredited while wondering if the events organisers deteriorating the condition of the playgrounds can meet all the expenses of the club Incase of reallocation of home ground for the club.
Management speaks
The Chairperson of Paidha Black Angels FC, Mr Robert Jakony swiftly without apportioning blame acknowledged the impact of the performing arts activities on the pitch, stating thus; “None of us was happy about what happened on the pitch as a matter of fact we should accept what has happened it will help us for planning purposes next time.”
The fans are vowing to foil and completely block any other attempts to give out the playground as a venue for performing arts activities, and already discrediting postures for the show of the fire baby Winnie Nwangi to be hosted in the same Bar Okoro playground.
DailyExpress further understands that plans are underway to convene a crisis meeting after Peace Giramia, the Head of Public Relations at the club responded on the official platform of the club saying the club will soon respond to the fans grievances.
“Management is going to respond to its fans as far as any show is concerned but I perfectly believe no one wants any damages to be done to club stadium, it was only a poor timing factor that made this pitch to look this bad,” Giramia wrote on the social media account of the club.
Paidha Black Angels FC thathas a budget projection of over 180 million shillings for this season 2023/24, is presumed to have been raising part of the money through the events hosted on the pitch of the club but not even one of the fans comprehends the cost of hiring the ground apart from the hearsay. It is upon this background of opaque financial transparency of returns on investments of performing arts live shows sponsored by the club that ejected and toppled the previous leadership of the club were ejected through vindictive means amidst other challenges identified by the fans
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