Kizza's move leaves a huge void at KCCA

With Mustafa Kizza's departure for Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact on a two-year deal, KCCA FC finds itself with a sense of loss.

For the past few years, KCCA's style of play and game plan has been built through wingers or full-backs.

Kizza is one of the players that complimented that style perfectly after learning from his predecessors Joseph Ochaya and Brian Majwega.

With Kizza gone, KCCA is likely to be short in the left-back position next season since understudies at the club like Hassan Musana and Herbert Achai may be in a position match Kizza's production.

Enterprising full-backs are integral to that squad; Mike Mutebi's use of inverted full-backs to offer extra passing angles and create space in the opposition's half has been the prominent feature of KCCA's domestic dominance.

SC Villa's Derrick Ndahiro and Onduparaka's Rashid Okocha who are both free agents are some of the left-backs that can try to fill the void left by Kizza after KCCA missed out on Disan Galiwango who joined rivals Vipers.

However, it seems KCCA is interested in Yayo Lutimba. His experience might matter at some point but he may not be a longlasting solution since he is in the evening of his career.

Kizza whose contract at KCCA was expiring at end of the year was not willing to renew and it's reported that the former champions received more than $180,000 from the side coached by Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry.

"We are really happy to acquire one of the best young players from Uganda," said the Montreal Impact sporting director Olivier Renard.

"Mustafa Kizza is a modern attacking left-back with great crossing abilities and huge potential. He is good on free-kicks and his height will also help on set pieces," he added.

Kizza whose deal with Montreal Impact will start on August 12, will remain with KCCA on loan until December because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.

The 20-year-old who finished the season with five goals and 12 assists from 19 games last season, joined KCCA's first team in 2017 from their development side and has previously had trials with Liga side Real Valladolid, Swiss side Lausanne, Moroccan side Hassania Agadir and the Czech Republic third-tier side MFV Vyskov.

At Montreal Impact he joins former Tottenham Hotspurs and Kenya skipper Victor Wanyama as well as former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic.

Kizza who has led the league in assists in the league for the last two seasons, will join Chicago Fire's Mike Azira as other Ugandan plying his trade in the MLS.

Kizza leaves KCCA having won the Uganda Premier League, Uganda Cup, CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, CECAFA Kagame Cup, FUFA Super Cup, and the FUFA Super 8 among others.

The former Kakungulu High Memorial student joins Jackson Nunda, Nicholas Kasozi, Erisa Sekisambu, Sadam Juma, and Simon Sserunkuma among others, as the notable departures from the club in the transfer window.