Who will reign at UPL Awards 

Unlike last season, picking the “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) from the recently concluded 2022/23 StarTimes Uganda Premier League (UPL) is expected to be a hard paper.

Yet, come Thursday, July 6 at the Sheraton Hotel, when the Pilsner UPL awards will be held, a decision will have to be made. At this time last year, it was easy to pick Ceasar Manzoki, following the dominant season he had, league top-scorer with 18 goals with a joint high nine assists.

But considering how tight the championship was, Vipers SC skipper Milton Karisa, SC Villa forward Charles Bbaale and Maroons’ goalkeeper Simon Tamale are surely expected to slug it out for different reasons.

Tamale was the best goalkeeper, winning numerous man-of-the-match awards. Bbaale’s 12 goals did not only make him the league’s second top-scorer, but they inspired Villa from twelfth place in 2021/22 season to third this time. However, for Karisa, not only did he lead Vipers to a sixth championship, he is the only player from last year’s awards that has been nominated for the MVP award again.

“It feels great and I give thanks to God that I am on the shortlist of MVPs. It is not easy to be nominated for two successive seasons in the MVP category,” Karisa said.

Truly, it cannot be easy to be on the MVP shortlist, when you are the kind of player Karisa is. Karisa is not a flashy player; the kind that will awe fans, and get them off their seats the first time they see him.

Put simply, Karisa is not your Hakim Magumba or, better still, an Allan Okello. He is simply your willing runner that will beat his op- ponent by pace, and not through a silky dribble or a first touch similar to a ball falling on water, the way only Andrew ‘Fimbo’ Mukasa knew how.

Yet, even with all those fancy attributes that top talents are described by, many of which Karisa may be short of, he is such an effective player. While he has been up against tough competition like that of Paul Mucureezi, Ibrahim Orit, Noah Wafula, Dennis Mwemezi, and Allan Kayiwa, among others, Karisa has stood them off.

Karisa, who turns 28 years old on July 27, is full proof of how effort trumps skill in modern football. That has made him a mainstay even in The Cranes team, something national team coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic had to defend six years ago. At the Chan in January, Karisa scored one of the two Cranes goals.

And although he did not have a good game against Algeria two weeks ago during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, he opened Cranes scoring in the qualifiers during the 1-1 draw with Niger last year in Kitende. Cranes have scored three goals so far.

The fact that Karisa’s late strike guided Vipers to a 1-0 victory over KCCA FC at Kitende in May, makes him overwhelming favourite for the MVP award. That victory largely decided the championship in Vipers’ favour.

The man from Sironko has come of age; from just scoring the first-ever competitive goal at Kitende in March 2017 against Platinum Stars of South Africa in a Caf game, to becoming the unexpected star of the UPL!

Nominees

PILSNER PLAYER OF THE SEASON
Charles Bbaale (SC Villa)
Milton Karisa (Vipers)
Simon Tamale (Maroons)

PILSNER MIDFIELDER OF THE SEASON
Laban Tibita (Busoga United)
Lawrence Bukenya (W.Giants)
Wahab Gaddafi (Arua Hill)

PILSNER DEFENDER OF THE SEASON
Hilary Mukundane (Vipers)
Gift Fred (SC Villa)
Warren Buule (Bright Stars)

PILSNER GOALKEEPER OF THE SEASON
Simon Tamale (Maroons)
Nafian Alionzi (URA FC)
Muyomba Matovu (B.Stars)

PILSNER YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
Darius Ojok (Maroons)
Patrick Kakande (SC Villa)
Saidi Mayanja (KCCA FC)

PILSNER COACH OF THE SEASON
Jackson Magera (SC Villa)
Alex Isabirye (Vipers)
Muhammad Senfuma (Maroons)