Kitende Crowned Inaugural FUFA Academies League Champions

St Mary’s Kitende Soccer Academy 1-0 Prospor Soccer Academy

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

St Mary’s Kitende Soccer Academy defeated Prospor Soccer Academy 1-0 to win the inaugural FUFA Academies League title.

Alex Ssekyanzi scored the decisive goal just nine minutes into the second half to guide the perennial winners to another trophy.

Following the triumph, St Mary’s Kitende captain Ivan Kakinda expressed his delight, emphasising the team’s winning mentality and the support provided by the management.

“As St Mary’s Kitende, winning is in our DNA. We have been in good shape throughout, and the management has been putting in place everything required,” Kakinda said.

Head coach Michael Kabali praised FUFA for introducing the competition, saying it provides young players with an important platform to develop their football careers.

“We appreciate FUFA for the initiative, which gives the boys an opportunity to start playing at a young age,” Kabali said.

However, Kabali also highlighted the challenges faced by participating academies, particularly regarding transport and logistics.

He pointed out that some teams, including Elcambio, had struggled with transport, sometimes having to travel to Kampala on consecutive occasions. He noted that St Mary’s Kitende had been fortunate to avoid some of the challenges affecting other participating academies, adding that the management had played an important role in addressing the team’s needs.

On the other hand, Prospor Soccer Academy coach Jesse Lukoki remained positive despite the defeat, praising his players for their performance and commitment to the game plan.

“Though we conceded, I am happy that our boys managed to play according to our game plan. We have lost, and that is how finals are. It has been a good experience as we prepare these lads to become better footballers and citizens. We thank FUFA for the opportunity,” Lukoki said.

On the pitch, Prospor Soccer Academy dominated portions of the second half, but St Mary’s Kitende returned from the break with renewed determination and eventually secured the victory.

The inaugural competition featured 20 academies divided into two groups, Buganda and Kampala. St Mary’s Kitende topped the Buganda group, while Prospor Soccer Academy emerged as winners of the Kampala group to set up the final.

Individual awards were also presented following the competition. St Mary’s Kitende’s Alex Ssekyanzi was named Most Valuable Player, while El Cambio’s Angello Kasumba finished as the top scorer with 23 goals.

Prospor Soccer Academy’s Magada Swalle received the Golden Glove award, which was presented by Benjamin Ochan.