Kampala Queens biggest beneficiaries in marriage with KCCA
Kampala Queens players celebrate with the 2022-23 Fufa Women's Super League trophy. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
KQ recently parted with their title winning coach Hamza Lutalo and are yet to appoint a head coach - although former Cranes midfielder Tonny Mawejje was unveiled as assistant coach on Monday.
Earlier this month, Caf shared in one of their communiques that men's clubs must have a women's side for them to acquire a license to participate in the 2023/24 Caf Champions League and Confederation Cup competitions.
The somewhat flexible regulation allows for the clubs to have their own women's teams or enter into an agreement with existing women's clubs or even men's clubs that have a women's side.
It is from the need to fulfill this condition that KCCA announced, on their website and social media handles, on Tuesday, that Kampala Queens are their official women's team for the next three years ending June 30, 2026.
KCCA finished second in the 2022/23 Uganda Premier League and are cued to represent Uganda in the Confederation Cup. KQ, on the other hand, are Fufa Women Super League Champions (FWSL) champions of the same season and are due to play in the Cecafa region's Caf Champions League qualifiers in August.
"First, the main attraction was in the name because we are Kampala City Council Authority and they are Kampala Queens," KCCA chief executive officer Anisha Muhoozi told Daily Monitor in a follow-up conversation after the announcement.
"Secondly, we believe that they are leaders in the women's football field. That is an area where we have no expertise so our thought is that we can learn a lot from them such that when we are ready to fly on our own, we are well prepared to do so," Muhoozi added.
From the times of their former coach Mike Mutebi, who left the club in 2021, KCCA have made no secret of their intention to start a women's football team and they have continued to support the national team and club sides like She Corporate, who trained there before last year's Champions League qualifiers, with their facilities.
From Kabojja to Lugogo
KQ are allowed to keep their brand identity but will use MTN Omondi Stadium in Lugogo as their official hosting grounds. This means they will no longer have to rent the services of Islamic University In Uganda, Kabojja and will also highly benefit from playing in the City and probably the KCCA fan base.
It is not yet clear if Lugogo will host the upcoming women's Champions League qualifiers as Muhoozi says they did not have that conversation and taking up such a tournament would only come after "Caf inspect and licence the stadium."
According to the statement from both clubs, "the partnership will also see KCCA FC provide technical and knowledge exchange to Kampala Queens FC’s technical team intermittently for the growth of the game of football in the country."
KQ recently parted with their title winning coach Hamza Lutalo and are yet to appoint a head coach - although former Cranes midfielder Tonny Mawejje was unveiled as assistant coach on Monday.
