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Vipers declared champions as Fufa end 2019/20 season
What you need to know:
The Fufa executive decision brings to an end the 2019/20 football season, with the small matter of the Uganda Cup champions and Confederation Cup representation still under monitoring. Big League play-offs will happen before start of next season to decide the third team to be sportingly promoted.
Vipers SC have been declared the 2019/20 StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) champions after local soccer body, Fufa, invoked the 75 per cent rule of the Competitions Committee Rules to decide the season.
The decision has been necessitated by the continued uncertainly due to the coronavirus, which has ravaged the world, bringing economies to a halt.
Vipers were topping the table standings by four points at 54, with dethroned champions KCCA second with five matches left to play. Tooro United, Proline (all on 22 points) and Maroons (24) have been relegated as per table standings.
“The Fufa Executive has decided to apply the 75 per cent rule and declared Vipers the Uganda Premier League champions,” announced Moses Magogo, the Fufa president, on Wednesday at Mengo.
“Maroons, Proline and Tooro United are (also) sportingly eligible to apply for club licensing for 2020/21 Fufa Big League Club License.”
Article 18 (ii) of Fufa’s competition rules on failure to complete the league due to force majeure states that “where all the clubs in the league have completed the first round fixtures but less than 75% league games have been played, the table standings at the end of the first round shall be considered as the final table standing of the league.”
Currently, 83 per cent of games have been played; meaning that with the league unable to continue because of social distancing rules, Vipers are now champions for the fourth time, and bottom sides Proline, Tooro United and Maroons have been relegated.
As it stands, Vipers will represent Uganda in next season’s Caf Champions League. Fufa say they will continue monitoring the situation to see if the Uganda Cup can be completed to decide who represents the country in the Confederation Cup.
Should that fail to materialise, KCCA – as the second placed team on the table – will instead represent.
Down in the Big League, pace setters Myda FC, UPDF are now sportingly eligible to apply for club licensing for the 2020/21 UPL license.
However, Kiboga Young, Kataka, Kitara and Ndejje University will do a play-off before next season starts to determine the third for sporting eligibility to apply for club licensing for the 2020/21 club licensing.
Fufa also applied the less than 50% of matches played rule to declare the Women Super League null and void, with no champions and no relegation. The District Leagues 4th and 5th Divisions have also been cancelled.