Anisha Muhoozi wants to push Ugandan football to international standards. She wants to be remembered as a beacon of hope for women in sports management. She studied Football Administration and Management Course under Fufa.

In September 2018, Anisha Shahir Muhoozi had spent just nine months as manager in-charge of administration and operations at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) FC when the CEO resigned. When she was appointed new CEO, she avoided media interviews for a year.
“I was still learning the dynamics of football management. As CEO, I wanted to speak from an informed point of view, with authority,” said the only female club CEO in the Uganda Premier League.
Muhoozi had worked 10 years in banking where most stakeholders understand the corporate system.
“But managing a football club in Uganda is quite different. What’s basic elsewhere, like reporting to work on time, writing reports, isn’t basic in football.”And she was a novice in the sports industry. “Even at school, I was mostly in drama. But I left banking because I like challenges,” she said.
Aggrey Ashaba, then club chairman, said upon recruiting Muhoozi as manager, they needed someone who would bring organisation, accountability, and proper governance to management. Someone fresh, without the baggage of internal involvement in football.
“We weren’t looking for football knowledge, but management and order — planning, control, organisation, and leadership,” he said.
Even on match days, Muhoozi wore high heels in an environment where dress code didn’t matter. It was a sign of change she embodied to turn the club into a typical corporate organisation. She knew that ending the laissez-faire traits such as reporting to work at 10am would be gradual and mutual. As she mastered the football eccentricities, her staff learnt her corporate approach to work. “We needed to find a common ground.”

Power of knowledge
Muhoozi’s entry into football lingo started on a tricky note. She recalls the time she asked about a term she had no idea about. “Excuse me, what’s a brace?” she asked and interrupted a conversation when she had just joined the club. (A brace means two goals by one player in one football match).
“Everyone laughed at me, wondering how I couldn’t fathom such simple stuff,” she said. But now she’s renowned for asking tough questions, being assertive, straightforward and speaking the truth to football power. “If you bring a law, I question the spirit behind it.” She became practical, interacting with players, coaches, fans and other stakeholders. She studied the Football Administration and Management Course (FAMACO II), under Fufa and certifications under Uefa and Fifa.
“I now have a good grip on sports management. I enrol in every football course because knowledge is power.” Too busy at KCCA, Muhoozi paused her Master of Business Administration under Heriot-Watt University, UK, until after Covid-19 disruptions.But the pause was a blessing. “Practicing actual leadership at the club made the course more relatable,” she said, adding that it’s the best MBA she would recommend for anyone, even though it’s expensive.

Competitive, uniqueness
Muhoozi describes herself as very competitive and addicted to uniqueness. “I believe we must lead and others follow,” she says. No wonder every season KCCA wears a new jersey.
It took her four years chasing the deal with CHINT Electric, which made her dream for night football a reality. “People were not coming to the stadium at 4pm. We needed to fix it.” Granted, trophies are paramount, but she’s proud of other milestones such as the ongoing stadium works, and keeping big sponsors such as MTN, CHINT and Britam.

Fondest, toughest moments
Despite the six-year wait for a league title, Muhoozi’s first two years were fruitful: a league title, a Super 8 title, two Super Cups, and the 2019 Cecafa Kagame Cup after dethroning Tanzanian side Azam FC in Kigali. “I had travelled and on reaching my hotel room at around 10pm, I switched on the phone and saw the result. I screamed with a satisfaction money couldn’t buy.” KCCA’s last silverware was the Nkurunziza Cup 2022.
Muhoozi cherishes KCCA’s 2-0 victory against Al Ahly, Africa’s biggest club, in the first leg of the 2018 Caf Champions League group stages, forcing the Egyptian side’s coach to resign.
Losing the rematch 3-4 in Cairo was another bold statement by Mike Mutebi’s charges. “Everyone in Cairo was talking about KCCA,” Muhoozi said, with a nostalgic smile.“That goalless draw against Petro de Luanda away was beautiful, marvellous. The boys played with flair and admirable intensity.”
Failing to qualify for the Champions League group stages for a second consecutive season after a 1-1 draw at Lugogo was painful though, as was losing the 2022/23 league title to Vipers on goal difference on the final day. But the worst loss was that when the 13-time champions lost to Villa who won their 17th title at Lugogo. “How could our biggest rivals win it at Phillip Omondi Stadium? How?” she queries.

Mentorship
Muhoozi credits Betty Rukyalekere, the then company secretary at Diamond Trust Bank, as her first mentor. She taught her banking dynamics when she was fresh from university in 2007. At Orient Bank from (2009 to 2017), Bernard Magulu taught her “how to handle people, wooing them into your corner, among others.”
At KCCA, it was Ashaba. “He allowed me to make mistakes and learn from them. He also warned me that football is addictive and has no working hours,” she said. Ashaba, now at the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, said the club was guided by the trinity: football the game; football the business and football the industry. They regularly had classes and talks about international best practices and localising them to the club’s context.
“She is a strong-willed, but fair leader, a sponge for knowledge, with a good work ethic, honest and dedicated servant of the game — a good resource to have in any organisation,” Ashaba says about Muhoozi, adding that in the future, “she should aim for Caf or Fifa positions.”

Managing scepticism
KCCA’s last league title was in 2018/19, Muhoozi’s first season as CEO. Now, they are sixth, 18 points behind Vipers, with just 11 matches to go. The aura at Lugogo is not good. “And whenever things go wrong, the main comment is: ‘What do you expect, it is a woman in control. What does she know about football?” Muhoozi quotes what sceptics say.
She wonders why male CEOs of bigger clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, are never insulted when their clubs are faltering. “Honestly, we should be performing better, considering the resources we have. In the league, we can only finish in the top three. But we shall be tough on Uganda Cup. And the revival starts on Saturday,” she said two days before KCCA thumped Mbale Heroes 5-0 in the league.
“But I’ve learnt that I won’t be defined by what people think; as long as I’m doing the right thing to the best of my ability. It may work, it may not work,” she added, citing Molly Byekwaso’s first full season as head coach in 2021-22, when the club hired an experienced squad, but lost the league by 18 points. The current squad has potential and experience. Still, it’s not working.

Legacy
Muhoozi wants to push Ugandan football to international standards. She wants to be remembered as the beacon of hope for women in sports management. “If I fail, I would have failed many women out there. Because naturally, many expect women to fail — a narrative I want to change.” She added: “This job was a gift from God. But I had to fit in it.” Muhoozi is helping women staff learn the basics of sports, to emulate her. And her message is simple: it takes passion to understand sports. You ought to be intentional by planning where you want to be and when.

Work vs family
Sometimes Muhoozi has to travel for matches upcountry when she feels she would have been helping her two daughters with homework. At office she sets daily targets but there are always distractions. “So, I must start work very early in the morning or stretch into the night.
Sometimes untill 9pm.”
That’s been her habit since her banking days.
“I really struggle balancing work and life. But I’m trying to create support mechanisms to become a more present mother.” After a long day, she watches a movie or a series.
And when she’s out with the children, she enjoys it to the fullest.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
Basic principle you live by: Godliness. My life hinges on godly values and principles.
Ritual you practise: Prayer every morning and before I sleep. At work, I list things I must accomplish every day and at the end of the day assess myself.
Favourite sport:
Football, of course.
Favourite sports item you keep:
Medals, trophies, but the most treasured is coming.