Unanswered questions as UPL reverts to the traditional double round-robin format

On Saturday, Fufa President Moses Magogo, flanked by UPL chairperson Arinaitwe Rugyendo, 2nd VP Dr Azah Taibu, Fufa CEO Edgar Watson, and Lugazi FC proprietor Abdul Kawuulu, announced that the Premier League would revert to the traditional double round-robin format for the ongoing 2025/26 season. The decision followed mounting pressure from different stakeholders, mainly the fans and Vipers who rejected the format as well as reforms in their entirety. A widely welcomed decision by the football fraternity, however, left some unanswered questions that Fufa and the UPL will need to expound. Fufa club funding, locker room bonuses, MoM, etc. In one of the engagements with the clubs at Serena Hotel over a month ago, Magogo told UPL club chairpersons that the proposed 3.4 billion would only be available if they accepted the now-abandoned format. In fact, it is alleged that many were coerced into accepting the format on this condition, as it was literally a bait for acceptance. The fund was meant to increase the prize money, 80 million grant to all clubs, locker room bonuses for winning teams starting with the second round, man of the match as well as Technical Match Officers facilitation for every match. Already, clubs had received Shs. 25 million as part of the package and now the question is, with reversion to the ‘old format’, what happens to the funding? Kawowo Sports’ sources state that during Saturday’s meeting between clubs and Fufa attended by 11 of them, SC Villa President Omar Mandela raised the issue and requested Fufa to maintain all the financial gains that had been attached to the earlier proposed format. In response, Magogo remained indecisive, telling clubs that a decision would be taken after consultation with the finance department. “FUFA will trial the proposed split league system in one of the lower division competitions, to evaluate its feasibility before any future adoption at the top level.” With the format set to be trialled in a lower league as suggested for this season, will the money be transferred? If so, what happens to the money already sent to the clubs as part of this? We wait to see. Promotion and relegation numbers With the three-phase format, Fufa had stated under regulations that two teams will be relegated from the Premier League and four promoted to increase the number to 18 for the 2026/27 season in order to balance the third round. Article 17 of the Fufa competitions regulations reads; 1) Promotion and Relegation will only provide eligibility for FUFA Club Licensing for a club to play in a respective football competition. 2) At the end of the 1st Division League season, the top fourteen (14) clubs of the final table standing shall be eligible for FUFA Club Licensing for 1st Division League for the following season and the rest of the club(s) will be eligible for FUFA Club Licensing for 2nd Division League for the following season. 3) At the end of the season, four (4) clubs from the 2nd Division League shall be eligible for FUFA Club Licensing for 1st Division League for the following season. With Fufa only temporarily suspending Rules 14.4 to 14.12 of the FUFA Competition Rules 2025 for this season, does that make every other provision in place include article 17.1 to 17.3? What happens to the Kitara – Vipers flopped match? With Fufa confirming that the league will proceed with matches played before the pronounced counting, what happens to the Kitara vs Vipers that never happened with the Venoms’ stance? First, the Venoms were within their rights not to play, especially after writing to the relevant authorities more than 48 hours before the game and second, they literally said they are not part of the league with the format. But Kitara showed up with the match officials and did all the matchday rituals. Besides, there are expenses spent by the Royals of Bunyoro to cater for a match day. This leaves the Uganda Premier League secretariat on the spot with a decision that must come as soon as possible. Vipers fixture schedule As we enter match day four for most of the teams, Vipers are yet to play any match. Why? Their stance on featuring in the earlier proposed format and, of course, their participation in the Caf Champions League. Their fixtures against Villa, Calvary and UPDF all fell into their Caf schedule while they were a no-show against Kitara. Now, the champions must be ready for a fixture pile-up but first, let the UPL secretariat make their schedule communicated.