Express FC's double (league and CECAFA Kagame Cup) was the major football highlight of 2021 amid Covid-19.

The Red Eagles who had gone nine years without any silverware managed to beat all odds to win the league title and their first CECAFA Kagame Cup in the club's history.

Even when the sports sector was in lockdown, Express managed to come out as the best side in Ugandan football.

One would urge that they won the league with four games left because of the pandemic but what is important is they found themselves strategically placed by the time the league was ended.

To show that they deserved the league title, they only lost two games of the 26 they played. Additionally, they conceded the least number of goals (13) and were among the best four sides in scoring the highest number of goals.

Their CECAFA Kagame Cup triumph was like no other. For starters the club won their first Kagame Cup title, secondly, they reached the final for the first time in 26 years, and then they returned to the competitions after eight years.

Such records perhaps were a pushing factor for Express who managed to beat all odds to win the second trophy in close to two months after the league title.

While speaking about Express success, coach Wasswa Bbosa attributed it to teamwork.

"We worked together to make sure that Express returned to the glory days. Of course, it was not an easy task since we had a lot of challenges on the way but that didn't stop the players from believing in themselves. The support of the club management was also crucial in the progress of the competitions we took part in," stated Bbosa who was also named the men's football coach of the year.

Although teamwork was the reason behind Express' success this year, you can't fail to talk about forward Eric Kambale.

Kambale who objectively deserved to be the male of the player ahead of eventual winner Bobosi Byaruhanga in the Airtel FUFA awards did a lot for the Red Eagles. He scored 20 goals in all competitions plus a couple of assists.

Express didn't only win on the pitch but they also managed to win off the pitch as their chairman Kiryowa Kiwanuka was appointed Attorney General, something that made the club proud.

However, with the club having had a remarkable year, towards its end, they started to struggle but this was mainly because of the misunderstandings between the technical team and secretariat, failure to players’ allowances and bonuses in time among others. It seems that has been settled.

Uganda Hippos' success in AFCON U20 finals

Although Uganda lost to Ghana side 2-0 in the AFCON U20 final in March, ending hopes of the country’s first AFCON title, the team lived up to expectations.

Even in defeat, many Ugandans found comfort and pride in the players for what they did in that competition.

The likes of Derrick Kakooza who was the top scorer in the competition (five goals), Isma Mugulusi, Richard Basangwa, Bobosi Byaruhanga, and Azizi Kayondo among others were the best performers for the Morley Byekwaso coached side.

Although the team put up a remarkable performance in AFCON, however, the players in that team have since dropped in form especially with their clubs and even when they took part in the CECAFA U23 Championship.

Cranes' decline

For starters, they didn't live up to the task during the 2021 African Nations Championship(CHAN) that was held in Morocco.  A goalless draw with Rwanda and two defeats against Togo (2-1) and Morocco (5-2) was the summary of the Cranes' performance as they were eliminated in the fifth edition of the CHAN.

Cranes’ poor show in CHAN didn't go well with FUFA president Moses Magogo who questioned whether the players that took part in the competition deserved to be paid any allowances after playing s****y football.  But later the players’ allowances were cleared.

This led to FUFA's decision to suspend then-national team coach Johnathan McKinstry following Uganda’s poor performance. McKinstry’s assistants Abdallah Mubiru and Livingstone Mbabazi and Fred Kajoba later took over the team on an interim basis.

The trio was in charge of Cranes' last two rounds of the 2022 AFCON Qualifiers against Burkina Faso and Malawi. Cranes' hopes of making it to the AFCON finals for the third time came to an end following their 1-0 loss away to Malawi in March. Going into the game, Cranes needed just a point against Malawi to qualify but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

But when you go back and look at the Cranes campaign in qualifiers, indeed they didn't deserve to make it to the finals. Apart from struggling to score, the performance was not impressive.

Reappointment of Milutin 'Micho' Sredojević

With FUFA having parted ways with McKinstry, they reappointed former national team coach in Micho. Straight away Micho was in charge of Cranes during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where Uganda won two games, drew three, and lost one thus being eliminated.

Of course, Micho's appointment was challenged by many based on his style of play (defensive approach) and that was the approach the national team exhibited in the World Qualifiers except the final game against Mali away in Morocco.

Retirement of senior players from the national team

Following Cranes' poor performance in the 2021 AFCON Qualifiers, some of the senior players in captain Dennis Onyango, his assistant Hassan Wasswa and Mike Azira decided to retire.

Whether the former national team players retired due to the FUFA boss' remarks over national team players’ performance is something for another day.

For Onyango who had excelled more than the rest with the national team, saw President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni reward him with a brand new luxurious 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross vehicle –for his remarkable Cranes career.

The U20 and Crested Cranes, Lady Doves
In women's football, the U20 team has stood out most. Despite losing the CECAFA U20 Women Championship final, they have gone to keep Uganda's hopes of making it to the World Cup.

For the senior team (Crested Cranes), they have one hurdle left where they have to deal with Kenya if they want to progress to the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.

FUFA awards
Since its inception, the Airtel FUFA awards have had a lot of major shocks.

The most recent was when Express FC forward Eric Kambale, who had the best campaign out of the three nominees, didn't win the Male Airtel FUFA player award.

Despite scoring 20 goals last season in all competitions, he helped Express win the league and CECAFA Kagame Cup for the first time, the accolade went to Vipers and Cranes midfielder Bobosi Byaruhanga.

Both Byaruhanga and another nominee in Azizi Kayondo guided Vipers to Stanbic Uganda Cup, made their debut with Cranes plus helping the Uganda Hippos finish runner-up in the AFCON U20 finals in Mauritania. But their achievements can't be matched with Kambale's contribution.

Uganda's participation in 2021 Africa Beach Soccer Cup

Sand Cranes made their first appearance in the 2021 Africa Beach Soccer Cup in Senegal and managed to finish fourth after falling 5-3 to Morocco in the third-place playoff.

Senegal was crowned the champions but this comes with the cost of investing in the sport which Uganda has to do if they make a step.

CAF Continental engagements

Express and URA managed to represent Uganda in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively. But because of their poor performance away, is the reason why they didn't progress to the money bracket. 

This has been one of the biggest hurdles for Uganda representatives on the continent and it needs to be addressed.

Mike Mutebi leaves KCCA FC

The departure of coach Mike Mutebi from KCCA FC is not something you wouldn’t want to miss out on. The identity he built at KCCA FC, winning mentality plus winning various trophies are something KCCA FC fans can remember about him.

As Mutebi left, Vipers and SC Villa recruited foreign coaches. Roberto Oliveira and his Portuguese assistant Marcelo Cardoso have given Vipers a new identity while Petros Koukouras was hired to revive SC Villa.