Silver medalists St Mary’s Kitende return from Zimbabwe at 2026 CAF African Schools Football Championship
Team Uganda (composed of St Mary’s Kitende) successfully returned home from the 2026 CAF African schools football championship on Sunday morning.
With their silver medals and the dummy cheque of $200,000, the delegation of players majestically marched out of the arrivals at Entebbe International Airport with their heads up.
Despite not winning the overall title, there were a couple of positive take-aways and crucial lessons garnered from the championship.
“We are happy to have returned home safely” head coach Hassan Zzungu remarked.
“We managed to win silver, a big improvement from last year’s fourth place finish in Ghana. We have learnt a lot from the championship going forward. I thank the school management, USSSA, Government, the players, fellow coaches and everyone behind who made our stay eventful” he added.
Team captain Livingstone Kuluta was full of praise for his fellow players for the brave teamwork and vowed to improve for the best in the future championship.
“Our team had a vision, to play in the final and win it. We lost in penalties and shall take that. I thank my fellow players for work well done. We shall aim for the trophy in the events to come” Kuluta revealed.
Uganda lost to Senegal4-5 in post match penalties after normal time at the Ngoni stadium in Norton, Zimbabwe had ended goal-less.
The grand climax was also watched by the CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe and other dignitaries on Friday afternoon.
Bashir Edema, Shafic Kitimbo, Frank Musisi and Akram Ssenyonga all scored their kicks for Uganda with only skipper Kulata denied during the tense shoot-out.
Meanwhile, Ghana successfully defended the girls’ title; winning 9-8 in a lengthy shoot out over Burkina Faso after normal time was also goal-less.
Prize money:
The two winning countries; Senegal and Ghana earn $ 300,000 (at least Ug.Shs 1.1 billion) each.
The two losing finalists Uganda and Burkina Faso take home $200,000 (at least Ug.Shs 738M) each.
Each of the bronze medalists will earn $150,000 (at least Ug.Shs 554M).
Uganda’s bold road to the final:
Uganda played five games at the CAF Schools football championship with two victories and three draws (in normal time).
Uganda opened with a 1-all draw with hosts Zimbabwe in the tournament’s official opener.
They then hammered Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 6-0 before triumphing Morocco 3-0.
The semi-final clash with Benin ended goalless in normal before Uganda won 4-3 on post-match penalties.
In the final, Uganda lost 4-5 on penalties to eventual winners Senegal.
Uganda’s matches at the championship:
Group A:
• Match 1: Zimbabwe 1-1 Uganda
• Match 2: Uganda 6-0 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
• Match 3: Uganda 3-0 Morocco
Semi-final:
• Uganda 0 (4) – 0 (3) Benin
Final:
• Uganda 0 (4) – 0(5) Senegal
CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Finals Individual Trophies:
BOYS:
- Fair Play: Morocco
- Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Prosper Pareira (Senegal)
- Top Goalscorer: Owen Mukisa (Uganda) – 5 Goals
- Player of the Tournament: Bara Gueye (Senegal)
