Author: Moses Mugalu

With just two months into his two-year contract, Vipers SC parted ways with their Brazilian coach Beto Bianchi on Thursday, March 9 following a run of poor results in the CAF Champions League and domestic competitions. Bianchi took charge of Vipers in January this year, replacing compatriot Roberto Oliveira who left the Kitende-based club to join Tanzania giants Simba SC in December last year. Ironically, Oliveira’s Simba are the ones who sealed Bianchi fate following their 1-0 win over the Ugandan champions in a CAF Champions League game played on March 7 in Dar es Salaam A week earlier, Oliveira’s…

Uganda Cranes coach Milutin “Micho’ Sredojevic released a 30-player squad on Thursday, March 9 to start preparations for the upcoming the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers. The Cranes are scheduled to play Tanzania Taifa Stars in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers later this month. Due to lack of CAF-approved stadia in Uganda, the Cranes will host Taifa Stars on March 24 at the Suez Canal Authority stadium in Ismailia, Egypt before the two teams face off again on March 28 in Dar es Salaam. FUFA communications director Ahmed Hussein Marsha explained that Dar es Salaam’s Benjamin Mpaka stadium would have…

Ugandan league champions Vipers SC continued with their disastrous campaign in the CAF Champions League on Tuesday, March 7 after another defeat at the hands of Tanzania’s Simba SC. Playing before their home crowd in Dar es Salaam, Simba beat Vipers 1-0 to complete a double over the StarTimes Uganda League champions. Simba defeated Vipers at Kitende on the same score margin last week. The defeat means Vipers remain bottom of Group C, with just one point after four games. It also effectively condemns the Venoms to exit door of their continental campaign. In Tuesday’s match, Clatous Chama scored on…

Commonwealth champion Jacob Kiplimo picked up the monthly Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA) Sports Personality for February award following his recent World Cross Country victory. During their monthly assembly held on March 6 at Imperial Royale hotel in Kampala, the sports journalists unanimously voted Kiplimo for the accolade. On February 18, 2023, Kiplimo struck gold after winning the World Cross Country Championship race held in Bathurst, Australia. His compatriot, Joshua Cheptegei settled for a bronze medal in the same race. Kiplimo is also the reigning Commonwealth 5,000m and 10,000m champion. Meanwhile, the USPA assembly also voted badminton player, Eric Ofuyuru,…

Uganda’s table tennis players could miss out on participating in the 2024 Olympic Games after the sport’s local federation said on Thursday, March 2 that it does not have funds to facilitate a team to the regional qualifier event due next week in Djibouti. The 2024 Olympic Games will be hosted in Paris, France and the qualifiers for different sporting disciplines are already underway. According to the Uganda Table Tennis Federation (UTTF) president, Robert Jjagwe, they need Shs 64 million to send a team of eight players and two officials for regional senior championships, which get underway on March 6…

OUR REPORTER KAMPALA—A gold rush may be on in the districts of Buhweju, Mubende, Namayingo, Karamoja, and Zombo. New gold targets have been identified there, the minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, announced. This puts Uganda on a firm path to becoming a serious gold net exporter and Africa’s “Next Major Gold Mining Destination.” Uganda’s gold export earnings have surged since 2015 due to rising shipments from the African Gold Refinery (AGR), a gold processor set up by Belgian businessman Alain Goetz in Entebbe, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of the capital Kampala. Uganda shipped gold…

Vipers’ new coach Beto Bianchi is under pressure following the club’s unconvincing performance in the recent matches handled by the Brazilian. Bianchi, who replaced compatriot Roberto Oliveira in January this year, has so far handled five games in which Vipers have lost once, drawn and won twice apiece, but without single a single goal in open play. Under Bianchi, Vipers suffered their heaviest defeat in recent years after a 0-5 loss to Morocco’s Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League on February 10. The Venoms, as Vipers are nicknamed, drew goal-less with Guinea Conakry’s Horoya AC on February 18 in…

Vipers’ preparations for Sunday’s CAF Champions League match against Horoya AC (of Guinea Conakry) got a timely boost with the clearance of defender Nzau Miguel Lutumba on Wednesday, February 15. Angolan-born defender Lutumba signed for Vipers in the recent January transfer window but his paper work was pending due to lack of certain documents from his former club Muscat of Oman Professional League. However, on Wednesday, Vipers confirmed in a statement on its website that Lutumba secured the documents to represent the Venoms in the CAF Champions League. This is good news for coach Bianchi Beto, who haplessly watched on…

FIXTURES: Wednesday, February 15@4pm: Jinja North United v Vipers Mbale Heroes v Bright Stars Mbarara City v Admin Following their 5-0 humiliation by Morocco’s Raja Casablanca in the CAF Champions League last weekend, Vipers will be seeking to recover against lower division Jinja North United in the Stanbic Uganda Cup match slated for Wednesday, February 15 at Kakindu stadium. The game is one of the three fixtures in the knockout tournament’s round-of-32 with keen interest. Victory is all coach Bianchi Beto’s Vipers need to bounce back before their next Champions League match against Tanzania’s Simba SC on Sunday, February 19.…

Uganda’s national football under-20 team, nicknamed the Hippos, signalled their readiness for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Finals by drawing with Egypt in a friendly match played Monday, February 13 in Cairo. John Paul Dembe scored for the Hippos before Apollo Kakogwe (own goal) equalized for the Egyptians in a closely-contested game played at the Military Academy Olympic stadium. It was a warm up game for the Hippos as they prepare for the AFCON Finals to be hosted by Egypt between February 19 and March 11. The Hippos are pooled with Congo Brazzaville, South Sudan and the Central…