UPL: Why Express, Maroons and BUL Must Win on Final Day

Last Matchday
Saturday, May 23
Vipers SC vs Express FC – Kitende
KCCA FC vs Mbarara City – Lugogo
Lugazi FC vs Maroons FC – Najjembe
Calvary FC vs NEC FC – Yumbe
Entebbe UPPC vs BUL FC – Bugonga
Kitara FC vs Police FC – Hoima
SC Villa vs UPDF FC – Kadiba

Kick-off: 3PM – All Matches

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With the 2025/26 Uganda Premier League title already secured by Vipers SC and the relegation battle already decided, attention now shifts to the race for a top-eight finish.

The top eight teams on the league table qualify for the FUFA Super 8 next season.

Vipers, KCCA FC, SC Villa, Kitara FC, NEC FC, Entebbe UPPC and Police FC have already secured positions in the top seven with one game remaining.

That leaves BUL FC, Express FC and Maroons FC battling for the final remaining spot.

All three clubs will play away from home on the final day. Maroons will visit Lugazi FC, while BUL travel to face Entebbe UPPC and Express take on champions Vipers SC at Kitende.

If all three teams draw their matches, BUL will finish eighth and qualify for the FUFA Super 8 next season.

However, BUL face a difficult challenge away to Entebbe UPPC, having lost 2-0 to the same opponents in the first-round meeting at Njeru.

UPPC striker Ambrose Kigozi will also be motivated as he continues his chase for the Golden Boot. The forward is just one goal behind current top scorer Ivan Ahimbisibwe and scored a brace against BUL in the first-round encounter.

For Express, the task appears even tougher as they face league champions Vipers at Kitende. The Venoms will be eager to celebrate their title triumph with victory in front of their supporters before lifting the trophy.

Express lost 3-0 to Vipers in the reverse fixture, the same scoreline from their previous visit to Kitende.

It has now been five years and one month since Express last defeated Vipers at Kitende, courtesy of John Byamukama’s decisive second-half goal.

Maroons, meanwhile, must beat Lugazi FC and hope both Express and BUL lose their respective matches to stand a chance of finishing eighth.

In the reverse fixture, Maroons defeated Lugazi 3-0 in Luzira and have won all three meetings between the two sides.

Meanwhile, BUL remain one of the most successful recent teams in the FUFA Super 8, having won the competition in both 2023 and 2024 after defeating URA FC and Vipers SC respectively in the finals.