Basketball in Africa

In Summary

It’s over between Stephen Omony and Falcons. The basketball star won’t put on the red and white jersey anymore after he decided to terminate his contract with Uganda’s most successful club.
Omony, who rejoined Falcons for a record-breaking Shs72m from Seychelles side PSL Hawks in April last year, accused the club of breach of contract.

Falcons agreed to pay Omony a monthly salary of Shs3m and Shs0.15m in housing allowances over two years, making him the highest earning basketball player in Uganda’s history.

“I have been loyal and executed all my duties as required of me in our contract. I, however, regret to announce that Falcons CEO John Ssimbwa failed to meet his part of the bargain,” Omwony, who won two league titles with Falcons in 1999 and 2000 before heading to Seychelles, revealed to the media at Holiday Express Hotel yesterday.

The 30-year-old star said Falcons owe him Shs42,303,000. He revealed he has received Shs8,147,000 from the club over the past 10 months. “We had several meetings to try and sort out the situation but they all yielded no result,” he explained. “I have thus decided to announce to you the termination of my relationship with Falcons as a player and assistant coach.”

“I still maintain and respect the personal relationship with all the team members of Falcons. And to the fans, I would like to say thank you for your continuous support over the years.”

Omony was brilliant for Falcons last season but the six-time champions could only finish fourth in the 10-team topflight men’s division.
With Omony calling the shots, they recovered from 2-0 to force a decisive game against eventual champions Warriors in the best-of-five semi-final play-off series.
They, however, fell short and failed to tame KIU in the bronze medal game.

Omony admits he loves Falcons wholeheartedly but feels betrayed by the club’s failure to consider his welfare. “If we are to promote the game, such practices must stop. I am speaking out for other athletes out there who don’t have the courage,” he said.

Falcons marketing manager Dennis Mbidde argued Omony shouldn’t have aired his grievances through the media. “As a club, we were trying our best to sort out his situation,” Mbidde noted.