At the close of the 2025 season, football champions Quality Chemicals Industries Limited (QCIL) won the title with a game to spare. After lifting the trophy, their ecstatic coach revealed his winning formula. “Goals win you games, but a solid defence wins you titles,” he said.
True to form, the team only conceded 9 goals in 35 games. They were also second-highest scorers with 45 goals. Only second-placed Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) outscored them by a solitary goal.
At the kick-off of the 2026 season at the former Legends Rugby Grounds on Sunday, stakes are high. Defending champions QCIL face an early kick-off against Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), which finished 11th on the log in the 2025 season. We should expect a physical battle between UCAA’s fast-paced attack and QCIL’s solid defence.
Other matchups to watch include Vision Group and Centenary Bank. The corresponding fixture last season was a heated affair, which ended 1-0 in favour of the media men. That painful loss at the second-last outing at Maroons Grounds, Luzira, all but ended Centenary Bank’s faint hopes of lifting the normal football trophy. The bankers, however, took revenge in the 35+ (Manager’s game) category, where they lifted the trophy after defeating the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) by 2-0.
In other interesting matchups, first runners-up Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) will negotiate tricky fixtures against Hariss International and Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). While in an all-bankers affair, Tropical Bank will lock horns with Centenary Bank in a mid-afternoon clash, while Pride Bank will take on KCB Bank.
Which of the new teams will get off to a canter? It is still early days, but we are sure to catch a few surprises from the debutant teams like Nile Breweries, Judiciary Service Commission, Movit, and Petroleum Authority of Uganda, among others. Debutants Movit will clash with Stanbic Ban.
Asadu Semeere, the Technical Officer/Manager for the Corporate Sports Network (CSN), says that the outing on Sunday will start with team registrations at 9:00am. This will be followed by a team parade led by the Prisons brass band, team managers’ and captains’ briefs, official opening speeches and then kick-off at 9:30 am.
The first set of games will involve I&M Bank vs Africa Global Logistics, Housing Finance vs Platinum Credit, Hariss International vs Uganda Revenue Authority, Jubilee Life vs Pearl Bank, ABSA Bank vs Tropical Bank and Graphic Systems vs DTB Bank.
