By Lubulwa Edrine
The Onduparaka fans club leaders yesterday evening at Hotel Letshuba in Arua relaunched the fundraising drive aimed at raising 250 million for team bus head of the next season.
With the numbers rallying behind the team, the club has taken it a notch higher to start a fundraising drive for a team bus.
Transport is one of the biggest expenses draining club resources and the first attempt to raise funds for a bus ended in failure as only sh15m was raised.
In the first fundraising drive, Onduparaka received a pledge of Shs 10 million from MTN-Uganda and Shs 5 million as support from the club management. Other strategies the club seeks to employ for raising funds include identifying 200 entities to mobilize Shs 1 million each, organizing music concerts at Greenlight Stadium to mobilize at least Shs 5 million per concert.
Currently, Onduparaka is plying its trade in the big league after last year’s relegation. It occupies position three on the table.
Caesar Galdino, the Chairman Organising Committee for the project said that they had set a target for the technical team to close the first half of the season with 25 points and end the season with 50 points to stand a strong chance for automatic qualification into the Uganda Premier league.
“Football contributes significantly to the socio-economic development. The club attracts visitors who bring in money that they spent in the hotels and on businesses in the Arua City,” Galdino said.
“Onduparaka has unpacked, developed and nurtured talent. We have players who have gone on to play for South Sudan national team, Uganda Cranes and clubs in other countries.”
But there is a big risk of losing the club because it is struggling to honour its fixtures due to insufficient funds to look after the welfare of and meet pre-match expenses.
“A successful mobilization and purchase of an omni-bus for players and staff transportation will improve the financial health of the club and ensure mobility,” says Albine Asiku, the fans’ club vice president.
Onduparaka, popularly known as the Caterpillars, rose to prominence in 2011 under the leadership of Benjamin Nyakuni before joining the Uganda Premier League (UPL).
During their first season in the top flight in 2017, Onduparaka was the only UPL team that went unbeaten at home, but the club was later relegated in the 2022/23 season and is currently playing in the FUFA Big League.
