Kampala Queens become fifth FWSL champions

Kampala Queens became the fifth champions of the Fufa Women Super League after their 2-0 home win against Uganda Christian University (UCU) Lady Cardinals propelled them to an unassailable 40 points on Sunday.

They take over from She Corporate, who are having a season to forget due to a player exodus and poor results.

A goal from Shamirah Nalugya in the first half and a late own goal from UCU defender Bridget Nabisaalu confirmed what many had expected from the beginning of the season and they have done it in style with four games to spare.

Nalugya has scored five important goals this season and will probably only have teammate Shakira Mutibwa, who did the dirty work in defensive midfield when games were tighter in the first half of the season, to compete with for the most valuable player (MVP) accolade.

KQ are the most motivated of all FWSL teams. 

For coach Hamza Lutalo, it is a triumph of defiance because "many said at the start (of last season) that I was new to women's football but I have proved my worth my winning the league."

For captain Zaina Namuleme, it has been a long time coming and she feels "lucky to have led the team to this". She has played for KQ and watched for years as they were taunted as a team that cannot win.

Of course that changed last season when their owner and Fufa president Moses Magogo started making no secret of his desire to have them play in the Caf Women's Champions League. He has backed up his words with good financial muscle to put together a deep squad.

Big improvements

They signed Asia Nakibuuka who won the league with Kawempe thrice between 2016 and 2018, Daisy Nakaziro who won the league in 2021 with Lady Doves, and Sumaya Komuntale at the start of the season to bolster their defence. And it helped that the trio had a good on-pitch relationship having played together on the national team.

Hasifah Nassuna's inclusion also added to the creativity and winning mentality in the squad as this is also her fifth FWSL title, having won three with Kawempe and one with UCU. 

Joan Nabirye, also a league winner with Vihiga Queens in Kenya, proved a timely mid-season addition as she has helped cover for the injured Mutibwa. 

She also needed no time to adapt as she had played with nearly the entire squad in the national team.

Such was the depth of the squad that Grace Aluka, who was signed from Olila and was part of the Kawempe side that won four titles and also joint scorer with Nassuna last season, does not even make the match day squad most of the time due to Resty Nanziri's much improved form.

Other results

Elsewhere, Asubo-Gafford continued their fine form as they beat Lady Doves 3-2 in Kisaasi to step out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.

Kawempe also continued to get better as their 5-1 triumph over Rines SS makes pushed them to second place and also makes them the current joint second top scorers with Uganda Martyrs High School (UMHS) Lubaga.

The latter are losing form at a crucial time and lost 2-1 away to Makerere University.

FWSL Table
Team                       P   W   D   L   F   A  PT
Kampala Queens  14  13  1   0  27  4   40
Kawempe Muslim 14  6   5   3  25  13  23
Uganda Martyrs    14  7    1  6  25  22  22
UCU Lady C            14  6   2  6   21  20  20
She Corporate       14  4   5   5  16   15  17
Olila HS                   14  5  1   8  14   21  16
Asubo-Gafford      14  5   1   8   19  36  16
Makerere Uni.        14  4   3   7   13  20  15
Rines SS                 14  4   3   7   14  25  15
Lady Doves            14  4   2   8   17  15  14

FWSL Results
Kampala Queens 2-0 UCU Lady Cardinals
Rines SS 1-5 Kawempe Muslim
She Corporate 1-0 Olila HS
Asubo-Gafford 3-2 Lady Doves
Makerere University 2-1 UMHS Lubaga