Amid excitement and fierce competition, the USSSA’s competitions calendar opener commenced today in Jinja City, featuring seven teams all vying for the coveted gold.
Football Boys Results
Group B
- Westville High School 2-1 Standard High School Zzana
- Standard High School Zzana 1-2 Jinja Progressive School
Group A
- Kawempe Muslim S.S 1-1 Bukedea Comprehensive
- Bukedea Comprehensive 0-2 Jinja Secondary School
- Jinja Secondary School 4-1 Jinja College
- Kawempe Muslim 2-1 Jinja College
Kawempe Muslim Secondary School had a promising start, securing 4 points in two games. They triumphed 2-1 over Jinja College in their opening match and earned a crucial point against the resilient Bukedea Comprehensive.
Last year’s 5th-placed Westville High School had a strong start with a 2-1 win over Standard High School Zzana. Oloyo Mustafa’s early goal gave Westville the lead, and despite STAHIZA’s efforts to equalize, goalkeeper Baluku stood strong, denying the defending champions. Emanuel Onyango extended Westville’s lead just before half-time. STAHIZA managed to pull one back with Mwebaze’s penalty kick, but it wasn’t enough.
Muzamir Mutyaba, STAHIZA’s head coach, sees this as a valuable test for the team ahead of future championships. “We want to use the Elite Games as a test for our players, so we’ll know where to correct before heading to other big championships,” said Mutyaba, expressing optimism about their goals.
Westville’s newly appointed coach, Kabiito Wycliffe, acknowledges the win but emphasizes the need for improvement. “We want to use this championship to identify our loopholes so that when we go back home, we can address them,” revealed Coach Kabiito, setting their sights on the East African Schools Football Championship.
Jinja Progressive Academy and Westville High School advance to the semi-finals, setting up a crucial encounter in their final group game. Meanwhile, defending champions STAHIZA exit the tournament early.
In Group A, Kawempe Muslim has a good chance of reaching the semi-finals with a point in their final group game against Jinja Secondary School, who have already secured 6 points today. Bukedea Comprehensive needs a convincing win against Jinja College and hopes for Jinja Secondary School to defeat Kawempe Muslim.
The action continues tomorrow with five scheduled games, including the highly anticipated semi-finals.
Final Group Games
- Jinja Progressive Academy vs. Westville High School
- Jinja Secondary School vs. Kawempe Muslim Secondary School
- Jinja College vs. Bukedea Comprehensive.