KJT’s futsal crown, a tale of resilience

The just-concluded Futsal Super League season was a busy time for all involved. A Fifa-accredited referee course, a Fufa coaching course, tough licensing guidelines that left three teams out including play-off finalists Big Talent - indeed there was a lot to be done.

“We wanted to be as more professional as possible. We could not afford many compromises,” Hamza Jjunju, the Futsal Association of Uganda chairman, said.

When the games started all this was forgotten as teams played a condensed league format finishing 14 games in six weeks.

The games needed to take care of every detail and there was no room for error. Once they started, it was KJT, on their second attempt, who came smelling the roses.

“This is the most important day in my life as coach. I am super excited because we had not won anything this big,” KJT owner Mansoor Kabugo said. 

Dynamic duo

The magical pairing of Ismail Ssendege and Muhammad Ssembatya was a blend of tact and finesse for KJT to rise to the top.

Ssembatya is still considered one of the best coaches in futsal. Winning the championship twice and losing the play-off final against Park last season with a youthful Big Talent allowed him to earn his place in futsal books. 

All this has happened from 2018 when the national league began.

“My mission was to win and I am happy I’ve delivered,” Ssembatya, a charismatic figure and animated persona on the bench, said after delivering one of the most exciting games of the league against Aidenal on the final day of the league.

Yet he was around for just four games and masterminded Park’s fall from the top.
Even with his wit, Ssembatya formed a formidable complementary piece in KJT’s tactical room with Ssendege. 

“Ssembatya’s arrival was a blessing. He is very tactical and wants his team to be almost perfect. This lifted KJT’s performance,” Ssendege said.

Ssendege returned from Dubai in 2007 loaded with futsal ideas and invited friends to try to create a similar arrangement he had seen in the Middle East.

“Futsal is a big thing in Dubai and among the Arab countries. We played festivals as the Ugandan community and I was always the coach. I picked a lot of lessons and wanted the game to spread in Uganda,” Ssendege said.

The first person he met was Yasin Nyanzi, whose interest was minimal. His idea was then to create a national league but he was unsuccessful.

The best of all

Park won the individual accolades as Brian Drileba was named the best goalkeeper while Abasi Muluya scored a massive 33 goals, 14 goals better than the second top scorer Issa Kisuule of Talent Bridge.

But this was not the full reflection of how good KJT was. Although their goals were scored by a committee, they have been a joy to watch.

Umar Ssebuliba was KJT’s top scorer with 11 goals followed by Abdallah Maawiya with 10.
Billy Nkata, who played the last four games of the season, is second to none in this league. His trickery and masterly of the ball is unmatched. Last season, he was the top scorer for a reason.

Abasi Kyeyune, the eventual MVP, ranks top among the offensive players in futsal yet he is also a force to reckon with in Masaza Cup football.

Maawiya, who is one of the entertainers of the game, had delayed to join a football club for lack of a national ID card. But Ssendege says Maawiya and others are ready as Futsal has already provided the right platform.

These are not empty words as a number of players have continued to stream from the five-a-side indoor football to the Uganda Premier League, Big League and Masaza Cup. The Futsal Super League accommodates players up to the third tier of the football pyramid.

With all the strong players all-over the pitch, KJT needed some luck. Frontrunners were impeded by Fufa Regional League playoffs losing players to Kaaro Karungi and NEC, while Park, though formidable enough, left the goal-scoring burden to only Muluya. 

No other player in the side notched double figures. This was made worse by the injury suffered by captain Iddi Babu in a season where John Kitanda, Shafic Avemah and Shafic Mulangira were struggling.

Winning formula

Ball possession and game management can be identified as the winning formula for KJT.  But in real sense, it took four years to get the title! Although KJT started playing futsal during the 2021 season, the players they presented had worked on their craft earlier.

The story is somehow strange! When the season started, Mengo, one of the founding members of the Futsal Super League were locked out for failing to meet the licensing requirements. Confused with what to do with the players, Ssendege asked to work with KJT, the academy that has groomed most of these players. When KJT owner Kabugo consented, Ssendege mixed the players and the result was Saturday’s historic triumph.

Apart from Kyeyune, who plays for KJT in the Kampala Regional League, all the other players have made their name in futsal. They have played together in Mengo and featured prominently.
“I reckon it came down a lot to the way we managed possession. It was nice being part of this team. We had a lot of the ball and definitely that helps. But we have played together for a long time and putting up such a performance was just nice,” Ssendege said.

But he is still hurting that his team was locked out of the league. So what happens next season if he will rejuvenate his team or continue working with KJT. It is a question Ssendege had no definite response to.

“We’ll see when we get there,” he said.

Survival mode

Even with the victory, even the champions will not pop champagne! It’s a survival game. There have been questions on sustainability of futsal clubs. 

Starting this season, Fufa introduced cash prizes to the futsal league and this could be one revenue source. Some enterprising teams such as Park and Kisenyi have roped in some shirt sponsors to rake in some funds. Yet wages remain a far cry. 
One of the top five sides, for instance, has been giving players Shs4,000 as matchday allowances yet the games have been playing from morning to evening.

For the champions, it is not better. Ssendege, who runs a restaurant in Kisenyi, offers lunch on the basis of first come, first serve.

“On a daily basis, I offer 40 plates of food to people around Kisenyi between midday and 1pm. Whoever is around by that time including my players, they get free lunch. I also have rooms where they can sleep at their convenience before they can proceed to their destinations. That is all I can provide,” he said.

KJT owner Kabugo offers matchday logistics, including allowances.
“Mr Kabugo offers some financial help to the players but you have to understand that most of them have come through his academy and they are just privileged to play for the team,” Ssendege added.

The players deserves dignity and respect as they exist constantly in survival mode. Defying the narratives of scarcity, lead with care and abundance is key for futsal’s future given Fufa president Moses Magogo is a high ranking official in the continental body, Caf.

“These are our children, we share whatever is available,” he concludes.

Top scorers 

Abasi Muluya    Park        33
Issa Kisuule    Talent Bridge        19
Julius Kasagga    Kisenyi        15
Faisal Wabyona    Aidenal        12
Baker Nsubuga    Kabowa        12

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