St Mary’s Kitende Soccer Academy were crowned inaugural FUFA Academies League champions after edging Prosper Soccer Academy 1-0 in a closely contested final, with organisers already planning to expand the competition to all eight regions of Uganda next season.
The final brought the curtain down on the maiden edition of the competition, which was introduced as a pilot project to provide young footballers with a competitive platform to develop their talents and prepare for higher levels of the game.
FUFA National Chairperson for Youth and Chairperson for Academies Robert Kiwanuka hailed the final as a success, highlighting the league’s importance in creating a pathway for young players to represent Uganda at international level.
“Definitely, you have seen the final being such a wonderful contest between Prosper and St Mary’s Football Academy in the inaugural tournament,” Kiwanuka said.
He noted that the competition would play a significant role in preparing players for future national team assignments, including the FIFA World Cup and the CECAFA Under-17 tournament in Rwanda.
“When you look at the composition and importance of the Academies League, most of the players developed through this competition are the ones you are going to see at the World Cup and in Rwanda for the CECAFA Under-17 tournament,” he added.
Kiwanuka said the inaugural edition had given organisers an opportunity to assess the competition’s effectiveness and establish a foundation for a wider national programme.
“For us as organisers of the Academies League, this is a great opportunity to monitor the development and pathway of these players,” he said.
The next edition is expected to feature academies from all eight regions of Uganda, alongside Premier League clubs, in a move aimed at widening the talent pool and increasing competition among young footballers.
“Our target is to ensure that the competition continues in every region next year. This edition was just a startup and a pilot project for Kampala, as we wanted to see how everything would work,” Kiwanuka explained.
“Next year, we intend to open it up to all the eight regions of Uganda, as well as Premier League clubs, so it is going to be very exciting.”
Under the proposed structure, participating academies will continue to compete in a home-and-away league format, while regional champions will advance to a final national competition to determine the overall winner.
“Regarding the format, we will maintain the same home-and-away system because this is a league,” Kiwanuka said.
“To determine the overall winner at the national level, we will ensure that every region presents its best academy. The regional representatives will then compete in a final league, which will be organised as a mini-tournament.”
St Mary’s Kitende’s triumph gives the academy the distinction of being the first winners of the FUFA Academies League, while the planned expansion signals a broader ambition to strengthen grassroots football and create a more structured development pathway for Uganda’s emerging talent.