Uganda Cranes conducted their first training session at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole for the first time since 2019.

The team currently in a residential camp welcomed Zamalek SC attacker Travis Mutyaba who arrived in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Head coach Paul Put was happy about the day-one performance of his players, saying;

“Today was about touching the ball and gaining confidence. I was a bit surprised it went well because I saw positive things from the new players but the most important thing for us today was to get the confidence on the ball. to play a little bit out of positions.”

Players in Camp

Ronald Otti (BUL FC, Uganda), Chrispas Kusiima (Kitara FC, Uganda), Nicholas Mwere (BUL FC, Uganda), Shaban Muhammad (KCCA FC, Uganda), Joel Sserunjoji (KCCA FC, Uganda), Denis Omedi (Kitara FC, Uganda), Ronald Ssekiganda (SC Villa, Uganda), Umar Lutalo (SC Villa, Uganda), Jeans Braddy Wokorach (SC Villa, Uganda), Nafian Alionzi (Defence Forces FC, Ethiopia), Patrick Jonah Kakande (SC Villa, Uganda), Timothy Awany (FC Ashdod, Israel), Halidi Lwaliwa (FK Bregainica Stip, North Macedonia), Isima Bin Rashid Watenga (Lamontville Golden Arrows FC, South Africa), Kenneth Semakula (SC Villa, Uganda), Isaac Muleme (FK Victoria Zizkov, Czech Republic), Capradossi Elio (Calcio Lecco FC, Italy), Allan Okello (Vipers SC, Uganda), Nelson Senkatuka (Soltilo Bright Stars FC, Uganda) and Travis Mutyaba (Zamalek SC, Egypt).

Match Summary: Uganda W v Nigeria W

• Uganda 97 all out
• Nigeria 85/9
• Uganda won by 12 runs

Uganda’s Victoria Pearls picked a narrow win over Nigeria to make it two wins from two matches at the 2024 Kwibuka Memorial Cricket Tournament.

It was a sweet revenge for the Ugandans who had lost the previous two games to the Nigerians at the same tournament last year and the African Games.

Nigeria won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision they favour whenever they win a toss. Lilian Ude 4/15 starred with ball in hand for Nigeri.

Uganda’s captain Janet Mbabazi (19) and Immaculate Nakisuyi (33) combined for an opening stand of 28 but the Victoria Pearls never found the second gear to score freely. Kevin Awino (14) and Consy Aweko (7) pushed the total to 97 all out.

In the run chase, Sarah Walaza bowled a mean spell conceding just five runs in her quota of four overs which piled pressure on Nigeria.

Victoria Pearls cleaned up the top order of Nigeria cheaply but the middle order put up some resistance that kept the game evenly balanced till the end.

Aweko 2/21, Nakisuyi 2/19 and Mbabazi 1/11 put a stop to the flow runs with the Nigerians running out of resources with 12 runs still required for the win.

Ugandan long-distance runner Oscar Chelimo has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The rising star qualified for the event after running a Personal Best of 12:54.59 in 5000m at the Bislett Stadium during Thursday night’s Oslo Diamond League meet.

It was the first sub-13-minute race for the 22-year-old World Championship bronze medalist.

During the same event, world stars Jacob Kiplimo and Joshua Cheptegei also competed in the race.

Kiplimo finished third and also clocked a Personal 12:40.96 while Cheptegei clocked a season-best 12:51.94 to finish in 9th place.

Joshua Cheptegei wants to use the Oslo Diamond League meet to build momentum for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Tokyo Olympic champion Cheptegei will look to build on his solid start to the season in the 5000m tonight.

Cheptegei had a modest sixth-place finish at the World Cross Country in Belgrade but he ran a 12:52.38 in Los Angeles earlier this month at the Grand Prix.

The three-time world champion is looking forward to his second time in Bislett.

“Last year I missed it and watched the race wishing I was here.  I am still in love with the track, and I wasn’t tactically at my best in my first race, but I will be at my best for Paris.  My target is the 10k as I don’t have an Olympic 10k title, but I will try for the double.

“Tomorrow is all about getting the fire back and starting to build momentum for Paris,” Cheptegei said in the pre-race presser.

Oscar Chelimo and Jacob Kiplimo are the other Ugandans who will also compete in the event alongside Cheptegei.

FUFA has revealed the selling centres for tickets to watch upcoming Uganda Cranes matches against Botswana and Algeria.

Uganda Cranes host Botswana on Friday, June 7 and Algeria on Monday, June 10 at Namboole in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with both matches set to kick off at 7:00 pm.

FUFA Executive Committee Member Rogers Byamukama, at a press conference held at Fufa House in Mengo, announced that tickets will be sold at two physical locations that are; Fufa Complex – Mengo and Tangosport – Jinja. Matchday tickets can also be purchased digitally via MTN MoMo and Namboole Online Platform.

Three categories of tickets will go on sale and that is; Ordinary, VIP and Platinum.

For each game, the ticket prices are as follows;

• Ordinary – Ugx 25,000
• VIP – Ugx 50,000
• Platinum – Ugx 100,000

“We want to caution the public that please purchase tickets only at the centres we have announced here to avoid fraud cases.

“The tickets will be ready for sale today (Wednesday, May 29) at 2:00 pm at the four selling centres. However, we are in the process of adding more selling points and we will inform you in due course,” Byamukama said.

According to Fufa, Double Tickets are available for sale and will give fans access to the two games. However, there will be a limited number for this category of tickets.

• Ordinary Double Tickets – Ugx 40,000
• VIP Double Tickets – Ugx 75,000

How to access the Stadium

Fans with Platinum Tickets will access the stadium through the Western Gate which is adjacent to the Main Gate.

According to the FUFA, Platinum Tickets will come with hospitality packages at halftime and a limited number of parking stickers that will be given out on a first-come, first-get basis.

Fans with VIP Tickets will also access the stadium through the Western Gate.

Fans with Ordinary Tickets will access the stadium through Eastern Gate, Southern Gate or Northern Gate depending on the colour of the (physical) ticket.

Blue ticket holders will access the stadium through the Northern Gate, Yellow Ticket holders will access the stadium through the Eastern Gate and Pink Ticket holders will access the stadium through the Southern Gate.

Cricket Uganda has named a strong Victoria Pearls side to feature at the 10^th edition of Kwibuka Tournament in Kigali, Rwanda from May 30^th – June 8^th.

The annual ladies’ tournament hosted by the Rwanda Cricket Association which has grown in international stature since 2014 has attracted eight teams this year with Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Malawi set to feature for the first time.

The other teams include hosts Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana and Nigeria. Uganda and Kenya have each won the tournament three times with the hosts Rwanda the defending champions. 

The Victoria Pearls squad for the tournament is a balance of experience and youth with an eye on the U-19 World Cup Qualifiers later this year. The squad of 14 players features six players who are U-19 and will need the exposure at the Kwibuka to be game-ready for the qualifiers.

The baby Victoria Pearls technical team of Head Coach Yusuf Nanga, Assistant Coach Ivan Kakande and Team Manager Lelia Namaganda will be part of the contingent to have a look at the other teams.

Uganda last won the Kwibuka in 2016 and were on the wrong end of the result last year against Rwanda.

Zimbabwe will pose a new challenge for the teams but Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda are all hungry for success.

The tournament has international T20i status therefore teams will be looking for ranking points as well.

The Team: Janet Mbabazi (Captain), Rita Musamali, Consy Aweko, Kevin Awino, Stephanie Nampiina, Immaculate Nakisuyi, Sarah Walaza, Malisa Ariokot, Lorna Anyait, Patricia Timong, Akurut Asumin, Proscovia Alako, Jimia Muhammad, Immaculate Nandera, 

Team Officials: Lawrence Ssematimba (Head Coach), Yusuf Nanga, Ivan Kakande, Lelia Namaganda Ondeko (Team Manager) 

Uganda’s Kwibuka Fixtures 

Date	Match	Time	Venue
30/05/2024	Uganda W v Botswana W	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval
31/05/2024	Uganda W v Nigeria W	11:00	Gahanga B
1/6/2024	Uganda W v Zimbabwe W	15:00	Gahanga B
3/6/2024	Uganda W v Malawi W	10:30	Gahanga Main Oval
4/6/2024	Uganda W v Kenya W	11:00	Gahanga B
5/6/2024	Uganda W v Rwanda W	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval
7/6/2024	Uganda W v Cameroon	11:00	Gahanga B
08/06/2024	FINAL	14:30	Gahanga Main Oval

The 2024 MTN Tooro Masaza Cup kicked off over the weekend with defending champions Mwenge South edging Burahyain in the season opener played at the Katoosa playground in Kyenjojo.

Burahya took an early lead in the well-attended game, setting the stage for what was an intense battle.

However, Mwenge South responded through Shafiq Mwesige who found the equalizer and ensured the teams went into the halftime break level at 1-1.

In the closely contested second half, it was Mwenge South that eventually found the breakthrough with Razak Musinguzi netting the decisive goal six minutes from time to secure a 2-1 victory for the hosts.

“We know Burahya is not an easy team, but we also have good players who are determined. I’m happy that we played as a team and won as a team,” Mwesigye, one of the scorers for Mwenge, said in the aftermath of the game.

Burahya, who also narrowly missed out on the title to Mwenge South last year, now face questions about their ability to dethrone Mwenge but their team manager Murungi Musobozi says the fans should expect the best.

“The team was well-organized, but some mistakes cost us. We’ve been training hard and have summoned the best players from the County. Our fans should still expect the best from us,” Musobozi reflected on the match.

The MTN Tooro Amasaza Cup was officially launched recently in Fort Portal by Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Steven Kiyingi, who expressed his delight at the growing standard of the MasazaCup. He also urged sportsmen to leverage the tournament’s popularity to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which remains a significant challenge in the community.

MTN’s partnership with Tooro Kingdom extends beyond football and encompasses providing HIV testing services to residents and supporting the “End HIV by 2030” campaign led by OmukamaKabamba Iguru. This initiative underscores the organizers’ commitment to improving the health and well-being of the community.

Adding excitement to this year’s tournament, the prize money has been increased from 5 million to 7.5 million Ugandan Shillings courtesy of MTN Uganda.

The Masaza Cup action will resume next weekend with a full schedule of games, promising more excitement and competitive football.

Kawempe Muslim Ladies Football Club have been crowned the 2023-24 FUFA Women Super League champions.

The Valley Warriors needed at least a draw over fellow title contenders Kampala Queens Football Club but got victory they got in their own backyard to claim their fifth title.

Kawempe registered a 2-0 win thanks to second-half goals from MVP and top scorer Agnes Nabukenya and Allen Nassazi.

However, it was Kampala Queens that dominated proceedings in the opening 45 minutes but were not lethal in front of goal.

In the second half, the hosts were the better side and utilized their goal-scoring opportunities.

Nabukenya fired home a free kick in the 67th minute before Nassaazi doubled Kawempe’s advantage with her headed effort.

Victory took Kawempe Muslim’s points tally to 40 while Kampala Queens finished with 36 points.

It is the fifth top-flight title for Kawempe Muslim in history, but their first since the name changed to FUFA Women Super League in 2019.

Peruth Chemutai shone at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic as she claimed the women’s 3000m steeplechase victory on Saturday night with 8:55.09.

It was Chemutai’s first-ever sub-9-clocking in the event and with that, she smashed her own National Record (9:01.45) set in 2021 during the finals of the Olympic games where she claimed gold.

It was the second Diamond League race for the 24-year-old Ugandan having competed in the Xiamen meeting last month where she clocked 9:12.99, finishing in 3rd place.

With that victory and world-leading time, Chemutai looks to be getting ready to defend her Olympic title in Paris as the games approach.

The Kenyan duo of Beatrice Chepkoech and Faith Cheroitich who finished ahead of Chemutai in Xiamen came second and third at Heyward Field in 8:56.51 and 9:04.45 respectively.

Meanwhile, Halima Nakaayi who registered victory at the Continental Tour Gold event barely two weeks ago struggled in the Women’s 800m.

Nakaayi clocked 1:58.18, good enough for a fifth-place finish.

The next Diamond League event will be on Thursday, 30th May in Oslo where Ugandan long-distance stars Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo will compete in the men’s 5000m.

Ahead of the highly anticipated and eagerly awaited Uganda Cranes’ return to Namboole, MTN Uganda has launched a fans’ campaign dubbed “Show Us Your Fayaaa!”.

The campaign is aimed at finding the Uganda Cranes and Crested Cranes official cheerleaders.

To be part of the campaign, fans are required to record a short video of themselves cheerleading Uganda Cranes and share the video on Social Media with Fufa TV, NBS Sport or Bukedde TV for a chance to be selected to be the official cheerleader of the national teams.

“One of the best news we have had this year is that Namboole is back and Uganda Cranes will begin to play their games at the Namboole starting with the World Cup Qualifiers in their real home and that gives us great joy and an opportunity to start this rally,” MTN Uganda CMO, Somdev Sen, said.

“It’s for the supporters of the beautiful game. We wanted to rekindle that fire today as the fans return to Namboole to cheer their favourite team – the Uganda Cranes.

“Fans make a lot of difference and today marks the beginning for the fans to return to the stadium. At the end of the day, it’s about the passion,” he added.

Uganda Cranes is set to return to Mandela National Stadium – Namboole in June when they host two Fifa World Cup Qualifier matches against Algeria and Botswana.