Selected results at GEMS Cambridge
NSSF 0 Tropical Bank 4
Post Bank 2, Royal Van Zanten 1
DTB Bank 3 ABSA Bank 0
URA 4: Electricity Regulatory Authority 1
SGA Security 0 Uganda Civil Aviation Authority 4
Vision Group 1: Post Bank 0
Africa Global Logistics (AGL) 4, Hariss International 0
Flash Back: In 2024, in the normal games, five teams went into the final bend with an outside chance of winning the coveted football trophy.
A few games in, and Tropical Bank knew it was their trophy to lose. Then the noise started. Results never favoured Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), Quality Chemicals Industry Limited, and Centenary Bank.
Tropical Bank’s captain, Stanley Musoke, chest thumped. “We’ve been a strong team throughout the campaign, and we are not champions by accident,” he bragged.
Vision Group( in action) is among the contenders for the football trophy this season
As if on cue, he ordered his charges to don special jerseys with the words ‘Champions’ emblazoned on them. They had a victory parade with more games to spare. Tropical Bank won the normal soccer league with a total of 91 points. Uganda Revenue Authority was second, five points adrift of the champions, with 86 points. Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) finished third.
This year, at the third outing at former GEMS Cambridge, tables seem to have turned. Watching Tropical Bank play against Quality Chemicals Industry Limited in a game that ended in a barren draw, you told the team, which played “Kawoowo”’ last season and scored for fun, is playing under pressure.
Players celebrate a goal during the outing on April 27
Earlier in the day, the team had laboured to defeat a spirited Vision Group by 1 goal. The moment they scored, they resorted to time-wasting by hoofing the ball into the bushes, which is uncharacteristic of their style of play last year. It prompted many to observe that they are affected by the fear and panic that affect defending champions
The Tropical Bank football team buoyed by a Partsian fanbase last season File Photo
It appears Uganda Revenue Authority, last year’s runners-up, are ready to capitalize. They have won 9 games out of 12 with 3 draws. “We are yet to lose a game, and we are very focused,” Moses Kaduyu, the URA patron, bragged, claiming they are working on a few issues to ensure they lift the football and overall trophy.
After 12 outings, URA tops the log with 33 points. Close on their heels is Case Hospital with 32 points. They are tied with Uganda Breweries on 32 points.
In the chasing pack are Tropical Bank, Roofings, and Vision Group, all tied on 29 points, while. DHL, the Uganda Red Cross Society, Electricity Regulatory Authority, and SGA Security are presently mired in the relegation positions.
