Uganda Premier League
| Founded | 1968 |
|---|---|
| Country | Uganda |
| Confederation | CAF |
| Number of clubs | 16 (since 2014–15) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | FUFA Big League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Ugandan Cup Super 8 |
| International cup(s) | CAF Champions League CAF Confederation Cup |
| Current champions | Vipers SC (7th title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | SC Villa (17 titles) |
| Top scorer | Majid Musisi (113 goals) |
| Broadcaster(s) |
|
| Website | Tickets www |
| Current: 2025–26 Uganda Premier League | |
The Uganda Premier League, known as the StarTimes Uganda Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Uganda and the highest level of the Ugandan football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). Seasons usually run from September to February, with each team playing 30 matches: two against each other team, one home and one away. Most games are played on weekend afternoons, with occasional weekday evening fixtures.
The league was previously known as the Uganda Super League but changed in the 2014–15 season after new management taking over.[1] The league's roots date back to 1968 when the National First Division League was established.[2]
History
Original concept
The genesis of club football in Uganda was an idea copied from England by Balamaze Lwanga and Polycarp Kakooza. The objective was to improve Uganda's performances in the Africa Cup of Nations after disappointing results in the finals in 1962 (fourth-place finish) and 1968 (lost all three group stage matches), both held in Ethiopia. The intention was to start a Uganda National League (the forerunner of the Uganda Super League) to create the foundation for a strong national team. At the same time, the identification of players from the grassroots would be made easier and systematic.[3]
Because there were no clubs to form a league, institutions and districts were contacted to form teams. The 1968 inaugural top-flight league was composed of Prisons, Army, Coffee, Express, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, and Mbale. There were three institutions and four districts and one club.[3] The league was known as the National First Division League, and the first league champions were Prisons FC Kampala (now known as Maroons FC).[2]
After four seasons, the political turbulence in Uganda impacted on the league. The 1972 and 1973 championships were not completed because of civil unrest. In 1974, the league became known as the National Football League and this title was used until 1982 when the league was trimmed to ten teams and was renamed the Super League (shortened to Super Ten in that inaugural season).[2]
Super League advent
The emergence of the Super League in 1982 saw the development of SC Villa as the country's leading club. Through the 1980s and a good part of the 1990s, competition between Express, KCC FC and SC Villa lit up the league and fans attended in hoards.[4]
SC Villa won the league for the first time in 1982 and over the next 22 years totalled 16 league titles. KCC FC and Express won the championship title in the intervening years.
Match-fixing
In 2003, football in Uganda hit its lowest ebb as SC Villa put 22 goals past Akol FC when the league title went down to goal difference with Express. This was one of the biggest scandals in Ugandan football and thereafter, there was a complete media shutdown in all matters pertaining to local football.[4] Fans became increasingly disillusioned and deserted the stadia thus affecting the teams financially.[5] The episode represented one of many that has plagued Ugandan football.[6]
Clubs
Champions
| Club | Previous names | Settlement | Titles | Championship Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC Villa | Nakivubo Boys Nakivubo Villa |
Kampala | 17
|
1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2002–03, 2004, 2023–24 |
| Kampala Capital City Authority FC | Kampala City Council FC | Kampala | 13 |
1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1997, 2007–08, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 |
| Express FC | Express Red Eagles | Kampala | 7 |
1974, 1975, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2011–12, 2020–21 |
| Vipers SC | Bunamwaya SC | Wakiso | 7 |
2009–10, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2024-25 |
| Uganda Revenue Authority SC | — | Kampala | 4 |
2006, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11 |
| Maroons FC | Prisons FC | Kampala | 2 |
1968–69, 1969 |
| Simba FC | Army | Lugazi | 2 |
1971, 1978 |
| Coffee United SC | — | Kakira | 1 |
1970 |
| Nile Breweries | — | Jinja | 1 |
1980 |
| Police FC | — | Jinja | 1 |
2005 |
| Uganda Commercial Bank FC | — | Kampala | 1 |
1979 |
Top scorers
Notes:
- Joy Ssebuliba was leading league scorer with 17 goals for Lint FC in 1973 but the league was not completed because of the dire political situation.[11]
Multiple hat-tricks
| Rank | Country | Player | Hat-tricks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olobo Bruno | 3 | |
| 2 | Emmanuel Okwi | 2 | |
| Peter Ssenyonjo | |||
| 3 | Moses Aduni | 1 | |
| Oscar Kadenge | |||
| David Kalungi | |||
| Ismael Kigosi | |||
| Hamis Kitagenda | |||
| Hisborne Mundia | |||
| Andrew Nkurunungi | |||
| Augustine Nsumba | |||
| Tony Odur | |||
| Cesar Okhuti | |||
| Denis Ojara | |||
| Allan Okello | |||
| Brian Omwony | |||
| Denis Onyango |
Sponsorship
| Period | Sponsor | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–2003 | Nile Breweries Limited | Nile Special Super League |
| 2003–2005 | TOP Radio | TOP Radio Super League |
| 2005–2013 | Bell Lager | Bell Lager Super League |
| 2013–2014 | Airtel Uganda | Airtel Uganda Super League |
| 2014–2015 | Airtel Uganda Premier League | |
| 2015–2018 | Azam TV | Azam TV Uganda Premier League |
| 2018–present | StarTimes | StarTimes Uganda Premier League |
Qualification for CAF competitions
Association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF club season
The association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF Champions League and the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup will be based on results from each CAF club competition from 2020–21 to the 2024–25 season.
- Legend
- CL: CAF Champions League
- CC: CAF Confederation Cup
- ≥: Associations points might increase on basis of its clubs performance in 2024–25 CAF club competitions
- Associations ranked 1–12 are eligible to enter two teams in each CAF club competition.
| Rank | Association | 2020–21 (× 1) |
2021–22 (× 2) |
2022–23 (× 3) |
2023–24 (× 4) |
2024–25 (× 5) |
Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Mvt | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | ||
| 1 | 1 | — | Egypt | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 2.5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 190.5 |
| 2 | 2 | — | Morocco | 4 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 142 |
| 3 | 4 | +1 | South Africa | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1.5 | 9 | 3 | 131 |
| 4 | 3 | -1 | Algeria | 6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 130 |
| 5 | 6 | +1 | Tanzania | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 82.5 |
| 6 | 5 | -1 | Tunisia | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0.5 | 82.5 |
| 7 | 8 | +1 | Angola | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 | 55 |
| 8 | 7 | -1 | DR Congo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
| 9 | 9 | — | Sudan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 |
| 10 | 11 | +1 | Ivory Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 |
| 11 | 10 | -1 | Libya | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 12 | 12 | — | Nigeria | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 13 | 15 | +2 | Mali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 18.5 |
| 14 | 14 | — | Ghana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | 13 | -2 | Guinea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 | 19 | +3 | Botswana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 8.5 |
| 17 | 21 | +4 | Senegal | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 18 | 17 | -1 | Mauritania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 19 | 18 | -1 | Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 20 | 16 | -4 | Cameroon | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 21 | 22 | +1 | Togo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | 22 | — | Uganda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | - | new | Mozambique | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| 24 | 20 | -4 | Zambia | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 25 | 24 | -1 | Eswatini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 24 | -1 | Niger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | 26 | -1 | Burkina Faso | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
See also
References
- ^ Richard M Kavuma (5 May 2009). "Ugandan football struggles to compete with English Premier League | Katine". theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ a b c "FUFA Files: History of the Uganda Super League". Soccer256. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Uganda Super League reaping from 1968 Sand Foundation". FUFA. 29 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Origin of the Uganda Super League (USL)". USL Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "HB ZZIWA: Villa's 22–1 win over Akol killed Ugandan football". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Top 10 List: Match fixing episodes in Ugandan football". The Observer. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Top 10 Strikers ever in the Ugandan Top Flight Football League". kawowo.com. 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "FUFA Monthly" (PDF). fufa.co.ug. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "KCCA's Ochaya is 2015–16 UPL Most Valuable Player". upl.co.ug. 13 August 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ Ewo, Bonaventure Binoti (24 September 2024). "2024/25 Top Scorers". Uganda Premier League - Official Website. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ "The Legends: Uganda Super League top scorers since league inception". Kawowo.com. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
External links
- League at FIFA.com (archived 22 June 2007)
- RSSSF competition history