Sparta continues dominance with Watoto Wasoka triumph
Shakur Ssendikaddiwa (R) is a sensational player with Sparta 09. Photo by George Katongole.
KAMPALA- The public profile of Sparta 09 football academy continues to rise after winning the Watoto Wasoka Christmas Cup that concluded over the weekend in Mityana District.
The team founded in 2002 as Reds Football Academy, won the U9 trophy on the first time of asking as well as the U13 title. Only Big Talent paused their rhythm by winning the U-11 final with a 2-1 victory over Kampala Galaxy.
The four-day camp, probably the biggest collection of youth football talent in Uganda, saw Sparta 09 add the trophies to the Tapin U-15 and Kampala Regional Youth titles in a year where they were declared champions at five different finals.
Team Director Kennedy Ssekabira, who hails founding director Patrick Ssonko and co-director Francis Mugoye for the brilliant idea, said that Sparta 09 is proving to be too good a brand to ignore.
“I am happy that we are already creating a major impact in Uganda’s youth football. Our priority was to offer slum children an opportunity and we are getting there step by step,” Ssekabira said.
For most of the players, they are in the morning hours of their careers yet they could not be overshadowed by the large number of participants, about 3,000, that graced this year’s camp at Gannyana Junior School.
In the U9 category, goalkeeper Japheth Mapusi, a P.5 pupil at New ABC Divine Foundation Mutundwe eclipsed everyone to be named the best so was Rauf Ssemuyaba in the U13 category. But the fruits are there for everyone to see. Midfielder Ashraf Kyakuwa, the U-13 team captain, a talented and technically gifted player, is hailed by Ssonko for his outstanding character, speed and hard work. No wonder he was the MVP. Shakur Ssendikaddiwa, scorer of three goals in the camp, is not only a promising player, but the P.4 pupil at Old Kampala is also turning heads.
In 2009, Sparta 09 changed name following a partnership with Germany non-league side Sparta 09 Nordhorn which offers them capacity building. They currently have 82 youth players and a senior team that plays in the Kampala district league.
Already Mustafa Kizza, Keziron Kizito, Moses Waiswa, Abdu Lumala, Ashraf Mugume and Sam Ssenyonjo have gone through the system while national U15 stars; Travis Mutyaba, Najib Kigozi and Patrick Ouke are in the pipeline.
