Only Champions League berth will do for Kampala Queens

Kampala Queens (KQ) start their Cecafa Zonal Qualifiers for the Caf Women's Champions League on Saturday at Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru and a nation awaits.

The 2022/23 Fufa Women Super League (FWSL) champions have been in camp under the tutelage of new coach Charles Ssenyange and they feel ready to emulate previous hosts by qualifying for the continental showpiece due later in the year in Ivory Coast.

"We want to achieve the big goal," assistant captain Shamirah Nalugya, said after one of their recent training sessions.

Her message was re-echoed by new signing Fazila Ikwaput, who wants to go a notch further and "do better than I did in 2021" when she led Lady Doves to a third-place finish with five goals at the qualifiers held in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenyan champions Vihiga Queens, who missed last year's edition in Tanzania but are in Group B this time, topped the qualifiers and represented the region in the inaugural edition in Morocco in 2021.

Last year, Simba Queens beat Ugandan side She Corporate in the finals of the qualifiers to make it to the second edition also in Morocco.

So even before a ball is kicked, the pressure is already on KQ to also better the performance of Uganda's previous representatives - and that means only qualification could count as a success in this tournament.

They have made the investment to match their ambitions - almost assembling a side that could pass as the national team. In fact, they have about 10 players that are crucial in the current national team set up.

Potent goal machines

Forwards Ikwaput and Rwanda's net burster Florence Imanizabayo, 30, have joined the team. They are essentially replacements for Resty Nanziri, who the club has tried to sell for months.

Ikwaput's reputation in Cecafa competitions since 2016, both at clubs and national team level, is well documented while Imanizabayo has scored over 60 goals in the Rwanda over the last two seasons.

Fortunately, the two do not have to shoulder the scoring burden on their own as the KQ squad is littered with goal getters, especially from the flanks.

Shakira Nyinagahirwa, who was top scorer and most valuable player (MVP) in the FWSL, was signed from Kawempe. She can be deployed in both midfield and on the right wing.

Catherine Nagadya, also MVP for the Fufa Women Cup, joined from Uganda Martyrs High School (UMHS) Lubaga and should be a creative and goal threat if she can get the minutes.

That is not to forget the influence of Margaret Kunihira at KQ over the last two seasons and Zainah Nandede, who also at times chips in with important goals.

Despite years of playing as an exciting winger, the previous KQ coach Hamza Lutalo saw Lillian Mutuuzo as an option in midfield. But she only returned from a leg injury suffered in February on July 15.

Three weeks might not be enough time for Ssenyange to make up his mind on whether to have her in the squad, let alone decide where she best fits in.

However, the biggest goal threat in their midfield is Hadijah Nandago, also previously signed from Kawempe while Hasifah Nassuna and Nalugya are more than capable of winning games on their own.

However, KQ will do well going into the tournament with the old football adage: "goals win you games but defences win you championships" on the back of their minds.

Coach Ssenyange has kept his cards close to his chest throughout the camping period. He was yet to announce his final squad by press time but there were signs he was still trying to build his defence.

KQ belatedly signed left-back Esther Namusoke from UMHS this week - a clear sign that Sumaya Komuntale needs a capable substitute or even competition.

Samalie Nakacwa joined the camp in late July from national team duty after moving from Kawempe. What remains to be seen is whether Ssenyange ranks her ahead of Asia Nakibuuka in pecking order as the national team interim coach Ayub Khalifa did for the Olympic Qualifiers encounters with Rwanda last month.

Defensive concerns

KQ's worries will come in their central defensive positions and those are crucial. In the league, they managed to show steel with about 10 clean sheets but that was mostly because teams worried about their reputation of their attacking assets.

When you break down the individual abilities of their defenders, there are concerns. 

Khalifa did not deem their centre-backs Lukia Namubiru and Patricia Apolot fit for senior national team duty. 

Although Namubiru was used sparingly in the national team that won the Cecafa Women Championship and played at the Africa Women's Cup of Nations last year, this centre-back pairing hardly has any 'big' tournament experience.

The other options they have here include Grace Aluka, Patience Nabulobi and Nakibuuka - who after years in the youth and senior national teams has convinced many that it is safer to field her as right back than in the centre.

Aluka has also spent the last three years trying to become a striker but has hardly had playing time up-front.

That leaves Nabulobi, who has had crucial development in the U-17 and U-18 national teams.

But when the club's patron Moses Magogo, also president of football governing body Fufa, used his influence to have Nyinagahirwa, Nagadya and Nandago leave the U-18 national team camp ahead of their just concluded Cecafa competition so Ssenyange could have enough time with them, he did not 'remember' Nabulobi. 

Perhaps, because she is not deemed as a very crucial addition.

But Nabulobi, also recently signed from UMHS, did well with the U-18s who lost the title to hosts Tanzania after a 1-0 loss. 

The other school of thought can be that Nabulobi needed the serious competition that she would find in Tanzania unlike the friendlies against select sides here.

But we shall only find out later today if her exploits in Tanzania were enough to force Ssenyange into putting her in the team.

While at it, Shakira Mutibwa, who was the glue that held the KQ midfield together at the beginning of last season suffered an injury midway the season that did not leave her the same. She attempted to return at the tail end of the campaign but not to much effect and has hardly featured in club activities as she reportedly suffered a setback.

Captain Zaina Namuleme, who made her name as a tricky winger, has to prove that she can fill in as the pivot against elite opposition. Teddy Najjuma and Damali Matama will likely share the role with Namuleme.

CAF WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
CECAFA ZONAL QUALIFIERS 
Group A (Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru): Kampala Queens, Yei Joint Stars (South Sudan), CBE (Ethiopia), Buja Queens (Burundi), FAD (Djibouti)

Group B (MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo): JKT Queens (Tanzania), Vihiga Queens (Kenya), AS Kigali (Rwanda), New Generation (Zanzibar)

Saturday Fixtures - FTC, Njeru
CBE vs. Buja Queens, 1pm
Kampala Queens vs. Yei Joint Stars, 4pm

Sunday - MTN Omondi, Lugogo
Vihiga Queens vs. New Generation, 1pm
JKT Queens vs. AS Kigali, 4pm