Nkumba triumphs as UFL lives up to star attraction

Nkumba University made history on Saturday, April 20 when they beat Uganda Christian University (UCU) 3-1 to win the Pepsi University Football League (UFL) championship final.

This was the first time they were doing it, having previously lost in two finals. Essentially, the MTN Omondi stadium, Lugogo was the venue, where Nkumba stole the limelight with the institution, courtesy of its footballers who rose to stardom. It had been long.

Since the likes of the Blick brothers Norman and Donald, Carl Mugalu, Susen Lule, Bernice Ankunda, Carroll Bisereko, and Albert Aciko, among others, led the Nkumba University Marines to the National Basketball League championship in 2005 and 2006, the institution had lost its clout as a sporting force.

However, the story has changed now since the weekend, and maybe it is about time the greater nation took notice. History will remember that midfielder John Kennedy Ssewankambo led Nkumba to its maiden UFL title. But that cannot be the whole story.

Ssewankambo may be a small footballer like Vipers SC’s Allan Okello, but he is undoubtedly a gifted player, that inevitably, with good scouting, should be in the top-flight soon. He is so central a midfielder, and could easily be comparable to former KCCA FC attacking midfielder, Muzamiru Mutyaba.

He is of that ilk; fine passer, imaginative, but also more robust defensively. Notably, Ssewankambo led a team that was quite expressive, playing some pretty pass and move football. But the same could be said of Uganda Christian University (UCU), whom they beat 3-1.

Perhaps, coaches such as Sulaiman Bbosa (Nkumba) and Jimmy Kintu (UCU) need great applause for training these teams to play as sweetly and entertainingly as they did.

They built from the back. UCU, particularly, had their centre-back Godfrey Abijole showcasing qualities of a tidy, smooth, technical and imposing player ready for the big step.

The same could be said of UCU left-back Sharif Ssewanyana, who not only has good height, but also technique, marauding the line until kingdom come. Such was how impressionable Nkumba’s full-backs, Joel Nsubuga on the right and Isma Lubega on the left were.

While they may still be rough on the edges, therein lies true quality. It is important to note that the development of these learned friends from the stage they are at is critical.

And that is why according to Kintu, the UFL has to be cared for more seriously if Uganda is to benefit from it. Uganda has a shortage of quality forwards, yet with UCU’s Isaac Ofoyrwoth and Geoffrey Gagganga, there are true jewels there!