Express head coach Wasswa Bbosa and KCCA counterpart Morley Byekwaso are confident their teams will put up a decent show in the first leg of the Stanbic Uganda Cup quarterfinals.

The Red Eagles who host the tie at Wankuluku tomorrow are in fine form at the moment in the league, top of the table, and have a win a record six successive matches.

On the other hand, KCCA are inconsistent, far from the top in the league, and their only chance of winning silverware this season remains in the Uganda Cup.

“It’s going to be a very difficult game but as usual, we are well prepared and looking for a win,” said Bbosa.

Byekwaso also anticipates a tough clash but is aware that picking a good result away from home will enhance Kasasiro’s chances of reaching the semifinals.

“For us, the target is a draw or a win to gain the advantage,” he told the media.

Power Basketball Club have recorded their worst start to a season, falling in all the five games played thus far.

The five-time National Basketball League champions have lost to KIU Titans, Ndejje University Angels, JKL Dolphins, City Oilers, and UPDF Tomahawks

To the management of the club, the problem has been coaching and not the nearly entirely new roster that’s also short on quality. As a result, the management has fired head coach, Arnold Lando, commonly know as Mchuda.

With only four games left in the regular season for the five-time champions, all are must-wins for the side to stand a chance of getting into the playoffs. KCCA Panthers, UCU Canons, Namuwongo Blazers, and Falcons are the remaining games for Power.

The side has recalled Bernice Akunda to steer the club for the rest of the season. Akunda, who won the 2011 title for the club, will be assisted by Carol Bisereko.

Kitara Football Club became the first team to be relegated from the Premier League after suffering a 4-0 defeat to Express Football Club on Friday at Muteesa II Stadium Wankulukuku.

With just 13 points with only a possible 12 remaining, the most maximum points Kitara can amass is 25 which still leaves them in the relegation zone since 13^th placed Busoga United are on 26 points.

Regardless of Busoga United’s results in their remaining games, Kitara can’t go above them which officially relegates them with four games remaining to end the season.

Kitara’s compatriots MYDA who also joined top-flight this season are also on the brink of returning to the FUFA Big League.

MYDA lost 2-1 to visiting Wakiso Giants on the same day at King George IV Memorial Stadium in Tororo.

The side is second from bottom with 14 points and can accumulate a maximum of 26 points if they win all four remaining games. Should Busoga United pick a point in their remaining games, MYDA will also be officially relegated.

Ugandan long-distance runner Jacob Kiplimo has decried insufficient support from the Government after succeeding at the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Kiplimo posted a new world-leading time of 26:33.93 – also improving his previous PB of 27:26.68 by close to a full minute.

Before the race, Kiplimo said he was hoping to break 27 minutes and he actually did so – a result that put him at seventh-best in history at the distance.

Days after the race, Kiplimo revealed how he feels government support hasn’t been sufficient since the start of his career in 2016.

“After my 10k race last week in Ostrava, I was surprised to meet a representative of another big country asking me to accept his nationality with very many promises.

“All I want is to train better and also help struggling athletes. But since my running career began in 2016, I have not felt the efforts of my government. Sad….” he wrote on his Instagram page.

Ronald Rugumayo won the 2021 Captain’s Bell golf tournament for the paid ranks category.

Rugumayo tallied a total of 139 strokes in the two rounds played over two days at the Uganda Golf Club in Kampala on Thursday and Friday.

The 2017 Uganda Amateurs Open champion, now turned pro, was phenomenal on the opening round with an amazing 6-under 66 gross.

He bettered the performance with one-over-par 73 for a total of 139 strokes, five ahead of second-placed Dennis Anguyo.

“I am humbled to have won the professional category of the 2021 Captain’s Bell tournament. After a 5 strokes lead on day one, I went for a defensive strategy on day two,” said a delighted Rugumayo at the nineteenth hole.

Over the two days, Denis Anguyo played level for a total of 144 to take second place.

Silver Opio and Richard Baguma played 146 strokes apiece to share third place.

Abraham Ainemani played 71 and 76 to amass a combined total of 147 strokes and complete the top 5 positions.

Herman Deco Mutebi (148), Phillip Kasozi (149), Fred Wanzala (150), Herman Mutawe (152), Lawrence Muhenda (152), and Becca Mwanja (153) all completed the top ten positions.

The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) has released the dates for the Stanbic Uganda Cup quarterfinals.

Vipers hosting SC Villa at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende is the first on the card and will be played on Tuesday, May 25. A clash between the record Cup winners Express and KCCA at Wankulukuku will be played the following day.

Wakiso Giants will face off with Police on Thursday, May 27. The first leg ties will end with Proline hosting the winner between Kigezi Home Boyz and Bul on Friday, May 28. The remaining Round of 16 tie between the two sides (Kigezi Home Boyz and Bul) will be played on May 25 in Kabale. Bul leads 2-1 from the first leg played at Bugembe a couple of weeks ago.

The return legs of the quarterfinals will be played on May 31, June 11 and June 12 presents two matches at MTN Omondi stadium, Lugogo with KCCA hosting Express at 4pm while Police host the Purple Sharks at 1pm.

Quarterfinal Fixtures 

First Leg

Tuesday, May 25

• Vipers Vs SC Villa – St. Mary’s stadium, Kitende 4pm

Wednesday, May 26

• Express FC Vs KCCA – Mutesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku 4pm

Thursday, May 27

• Wakiso Giants Vs Police – Kabaka Kyabaggu Stadium, Wakiso 4pm

Friday, May 28

• Proline Vs Kigezi Home Boys/Bul – MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo 4pm

Second Leg

Monday, May 31

• Kigezi Home Boyz/Bul Vs Proline – TBC 3.30pm

Friday, June 11

• SC Villa Vs Vipers – Bombo Military Barracks 4pm

Saturday, June 12

• Police Vs Wakiso Giants – MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo 1pm
• KCCA Vs Express – MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo 4pm

MTN Uganda’s commitment to developing sport across the country was re-echoed in their new commitment to boost Tooro Kingdom Masaza football tournaments and the newly introduced inter-counties bicycle competitions.

The telecom giants entered a partnership worth Seven Hundred Million Uganda Shillings, with the kingdom of Tooro to support the Kingdom’s socio-cultural and economic programs.

It will be executed under MTN Y’ello Hope, as Corporate Social Investment projects. MTN has also committed to supporting the annual Empango or coronation celebrations over the period of the partnership.

Representing the Chief Executive Officer, the MTN Uganda General Manager, Sales, and Distribution, Mr. Joseph Bogera presided over the symbolic signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, that took place at the Karuzika in Fort Portal, during the Omukama’s silver jubilee Empango celebrations.

Mr. Bogera said that MTN is working with cultural institutions like the kingdom of Tooro, because they are a strong community establishment that fosters shared beliefs and unity of purpose.

“As MTN, we believe that we are good together because MTN only succeeds if the communities in which we operate succeed.

“Being a partner in development gives us the opportunity to support the social and economic aspirations of our customers and the Ugandan community in general.

“We are focused on actively demonstrating what can be achieved if we work together to enable a shared value system,” Bogera said, adding that MTN is proud to be associated with the Kingdom of Tooro and what it stands for in the lives of its people.

Rt. Hon Bernard Tungakwo the Prime Minister of Tooro Kingdom thanked MTN Uganda for caring and supporting the people of Tooro over the years.

“I am happy to note that MTN has over the years shown its care for the people of Tooro. Our association stretches years back, and this partnership is further testament to the bond that exists between the people of Tooro and MTN.

“We are indeed grateful for all the support you have extended to the kingdom and pledge to continue supporting MTN in whatever way we can,” Tungakwo said.

As part of MTN’s 20-year anniversary celebrations, the company supported the renovation and equipping of the maternity wards at Kijuura Health Centre III and Kabarole Hospital in Tooro Kingdom.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed the Qualifers for 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to October 2021.

The qualifiers were due to get underway next month. The change has been made due to infrastructural and Covid-19 challenges that could not grant the qualifiers to roll off in June.

“The reasons for the postponement were based on the actual conditions of certain stadiums in Africa and the restrictions related to COVID-19.

“The 1st round will now take place in the FIFA window of 18-26 October and the 2nd round February 14-23, 2022,” a statement released by CAF Deputy General Secretary in charge of Football and Development, stated.

The Draws

Forty-four (44) countries including Uganda entered their teams for the Qualifiers that will kick-off with first-round action.

The Crested Cranes of Uganda were drawn against Ethiopia in the first round of the Qualifiers. The winner of the tie over the two legs will face the winner between South Sudan and Kenya in the second round.

Since the inception of the MTN Uganda Marathon, over 3.5 billion shillings has been raised to complement government efforts in pertinent sectors such as health, education and ICT.

MTN Uganda has for the last sixteen years consistently organized the event which has evolved into the biggest athletics event in the region. 

According to MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Somdev Sen, a lot of preparation has been put in for the success of the event. 

What is the motive of the MTN Kampala Marathon?

As a corporate citizen, we believe that part of our responsibility is to improve the lives of the people in the communities within which we operate. MTN Uganda believes there is a limit to the impact a single company can create and as such the marathon was born out of the idea that together we can do more therefore creating it to be a platform where individuals and other corporate organisations could come together to contribute, ideas, solutions and funds that would help address many pressing socio-economic needs across the country.

How does MTN mobilize these funds?

Funds are raised through corporate companies who come on board as sponsors of the marathon as well as through individuals who chose to participate in the in the run. Over the years the marathon has attracted an average of 20,000 individual runners and corporate companies like Vision Group, Huawei, Stanbic Bank, Rwenzori, Spedag among others all coming together to raise a good amount of money to address given challenges in the communities.

So far how many people’s lives has the MKM touched?

It is quite hard to quantify the number of lives that the MKM has touched over the years. Let me say that in the past sixteen years, very many people in different communities have benefited from the proceeds of the Marathon. As a matter of fact, the MKM has raised over 3.5 billion shillings that has all been spent on various charity projects across the country in a conscious effort to enable the country achieve the sustainable development goals in the areas of health, education and ICT.

Tell us about the projects that have been undertaken using the MKM proceeds so far.

In terms of projects, we have done quite many. We started with supporting mothers in Internally Displaced People’s camps with Mama kits, moved on to providing safe water in Amuria and Karamoja, constructed biogas toilets in KCCA schools, reduced cancer exposure among school children by replacing asbestos roofing with iron sheets and currently, we are complementing government efforts in maternal health across the country. Each of these projects have lasted a couple of years.

Impressive. So how much money does the MKM raise annually?

Again, that varies from year to year, based on a number of factors. But in a nutshell, the MKM proceeds have been increasing progressively over the years. For instance, when we started in 2004, we raised 20million shillings from 1500 participants. Six years later when other corporate companies came in to sponsor the event, we were able to raise 190 million. In 2015, we hit the 500 million mark and for the last two years, the MKM has raised at least 600million shillings in both the years.

Talking about the last two years, MTN Uganda extended the MKM to other regions in the country. What was the motive?

As you may be aware, the MKM has evolved into the biggest athletic event in the region. As such, the numbers of participants had outgrown our capacity in Kampala yet the need for services was still immense in the communities. Therefore, in order to give more Ugandans a chance to participate in this philanthropic event, we introduced the regional runs, which I’m proud to say have been well-received. The beauty about these races is that they are rotational so every major town out of Kampala eventually gets to host the MKM.

It is Mid-November already and there are no MKM adverts…

Yes. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, we decided, with a heavy heart, not to have the MKM this year. The Covid19 ministry of Health guidelines require social distancing and no crowd gatherings yet based on the previous crowds, it is evident that it will be impossible to enforce social distancing and the other SOPs. As such, we have decided to call it off this year. Hopefully if the pandemic is no more by the same time next year, we shall organize the MKM as we have done for the last 16 years.

What is the future of the MKM?

Even though we have seen progress over the years, there is still more to be done in the socio-economic services sector in the communities. We recognize the fact that government cannot do this on its own. Therefore, as a company that is in the business of connecting people, we are willingly still committed to connecting communities to better socio economic services through mobilizing fellow corporates, individual and organisations to help make a difference in the communities. Once the pandemic is behind us, the MKM will come back in a much bigger and better way.

What does it take for one to be a sponsor or individually participate in MTN Kampala Marathon?

Any individual, company, or organization that is interested in partaking in charity can make a donation of any amount or sign up for a sponsorship package as an official partner of the MKM.

Brian Makalama and Robert Musinguzi have been appointed to take charge of the Uganda Rugby Cranes in the absence of hospitalized head coach Robert Seguya.

The announcement has been made as a summoned training squad of over seventy players get ready for their first session on Saturday morning at Kyadondo Rugby Club.

Makalama assumes the role of head coach and Musinguzi will be his assistant. Musinguzi is the head coach at Black Pirates Rugby Club while for last season while Makalama was providing technical assistance to Buffaloes Rugby Club.

Makalama has said he is curious to see which players will honour the call up and is excited to meet them at the first session.

“It is exciting to meet the group of players on Saturday. I am curious to see who will honour the call-up since that will be our first training session. First sessions are usually challenging because it sets the pace for the rest of our contact,” Makalama said.

On the other hand, Musinguzi has expressed his delight at the opportunity to be chosen to work with the national team.

”It is a huge honour to be chosen to work with the national team. As a coach, the opportunity to work with the top players and coaches in the country is something very exciting. I have worked with Coach Brain Makalama before at club level and I am looking forward to another enjoyable, memorable, and ultimately successful experience with him at the national level,” he said.

Makalama and Musinguzi both donned the precious Uganda Rugby Cranes jersey during their playing days. Makalama was a front-row forward while Musinguzi was a halfback.