For long Uganda’s two most supported football clubs have overwhelmingly lived in the shadows of one domineering one.
Intrigue, poor administration and lack of strategy, coupled with some level of interference from the local football body, Fufa, left SC Villa and Express at the mercy of good will.
Intrigue, poor administration and lack of strategy, coupled with some level of interference from the local football body, Fufa, left SC Villa and Express at the mercy of good will.
Between the two are 22 national league titles, with Villa stacking 16 of them - a national record.
Yet most of this forms just part of history, for - beyond the name and brand of Villa and Express - has largely been anything worthwhile to write home about.
We can, for example, recall how Villa left everyone in their wake, winning the national league seven straight seasons from 1998. While Express made it six league titles in 2012, their last had come 16 years before. Last season they survived relegation on the last day by the skin of their teeth.
Since Villa’s last league title, KCCA have won five, URA four, current champions Vipers three and Police - the Jogoos successors in 2005 - once.
In coach Mike Mutebi they hired a manager and disciplinarian three years ago, who demanded he be given autonomy to build an institution for them. Now, KCCA are not only Uganda’s model club but the region’s as well.
Last season KCCA were the only East African club in the continental group stages, and are the sole Cecafa team in Group Stages of the Champions League this campaign.
This took deliberate, mid and short-term steps to achieve, which strategy has lacked at Villa and Express for long.
But with Villa historicals and directors including interim chairman William Nkemba, former president Franco Mugabe and long-serving treasurer Hajj Mandela coming to the club’s rescue, the odds look good again for the Blues.
But with Villa historicals and directors including interim chairman William Nkemba, former president Franco Mugabe and long-serving treasurer Hajj Mandela coming to the club’s rescue, the odds look good again for the Blues.
The same bells have gone off at Wankululuku, the home of Express, where city lawyer Kiryowa Kiwanuka, grandson of the Red Eagles founding father Jolly Joe Kiwanuka, has taken over as chairperson.
Villa have since named an interim committee to ensure free and fair elections while Kiwanuka named a formidable board last week.
Villa have since named an interim committee to ensure free and fair elections while Kiwanuka named a formidable board last week.
In Mandela Group, Villa are counting on sponsorship from several franchises including City Oil and Cafe Javas among others, while Express just last Thursday unveiled Equity Bank in a Shs100m deal.
KCCA currently boast of the biggest sponsorships in the country because of their increased value, but if events at Villa and Express are to go the full distance, there is no reason to doubt the return of VEK (Villa, Express, KCCA)
