Ugandan club Vipers SC was declared champions of the 2019/2020 Uganda Premier League following a decision by the nation’s football federation on Wednesday to end the domestic football season.
The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) took the decision in light of the disruptions to the season occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FUFA applied a rule that more than 75 percent of the league’s games had been played by the time the season was suspended on March 18.
Vipers SC topped the table with 54 points having played 25 matches while Kampala City Capital Authority (KCCA) FC and Sports Club Villa were second and third on 50 and 46 points respectively.
Meanwhile, Maroons, Proline, and Tooro United have been relegated to the second-tier FUFA Big League.
Myda FC and Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) FC have both been promoted to the Uganda Premier League while four other clubs will participate in a playoff before the start of the next season to determine the third team to be promoted.
Magogo pointed out the situation was still being monitored as to the possibility of the remaining matches in the Stanbic Uganda Cup being played before the start of the next season.
The women’s tournament, the FUFA Women’s Super League was canceled with no champion being declared or any team being relegated as it had not met the 50 percent threshold of matches played. The women’s domestic cup, the National Beach Soccer League, and the FUFA Juniors League were also canceled.
Uganda joins a host of other African countries to end their domestic football seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nations are Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Kenya, Mauritius, and Niger. Kenya’s decision to cancel its season is to be reviewed by a dispute tribunal due to a disagreement between its football federation and league administrator.
