Prime
She Corporate alive again
She Corporate celebrate after lifting the 2024 Fufa Women Cup. PHOTOS/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
The Nakawa-based side first beat Olila High School 6-4, after a goalless draw in regulation time, in the playoff finals of the Fufa Women Elite League (FWEL) on June 15.
She Corporate showed character to win a second penalty shootout in eight days to complete a league and cup double at Standard High School Zzana – Ndejje Campus.
The Nakawa-based side first beat Olila High School 6-4, after a goalless draw in regulation time, in the playoff finals of the Fufa Women Elite League (FWEL) on June 15.
They then returned to the venue last Sunday to beat top division Fufa Women Super League (FWSL) side Rines SS 5-4 on penalties after another goalless draw.
Interestingly, the sides seemed not to know what was next after regulation time. As the stadium announcer said the game was headed for extra time as per the rules, the teams readied their players for spot kicks, which was probably the communication from the game officials.
The players had to be pulled back from the centre of the pitch to prepare for extra time, which also did not produce goals.
Patricia Nakato, Eva Nagayi, Yuster Kayesu and Adrine Birungi scored Rines' first four penalties.
For equal measure, Cissy Nakate, Stella Musibika, Annitah Arinda and Ronah Regina Nantege scored for She Corporate.
Amina Nababi missed Rines' fifth, putting her effort wide of the left post and presenting a chance to her former Kawempe Muslim teammate Spencer Nakacwa to win it for She Corporate. But the latter put the ball in the same spot to push the kicks to sudden death.
Shakirah Nalule missed Rines' sixth attempt then Phionah Atono came and won it for the Sharks.
Amina Nababi (Rines) with the MVP and top scorers awards.
What was supposed to be a 2023/24 season of despair after they had been relegated in the 2022/23 has instead brought unprecedented success with promotion and wins over three FWSL sides in the Cup.
No side had won the league, for any of the tiers, and the Cup in the same season since the latter competition was introduced in 2017.
Managing success
When She Corporate won the top tier league in 2022, the Cup was in a hiatus as competitions returned slowly following the Covid-19 outbreak. They also lost the Cup in 2018 to Uganda Christian University (UCU) Lady Cardinals in Sheema; Kawempe won the league last year.
Coach Hassan Isa has promised that She Corporate will be competitive next year while their chairman Richard Kaweere insists that they struggled in the 2022/23 season because they had failed to manage their success.
Best goalkeeper Hadijah Nalongo (She Corporate).
"After we won the (2022 FWSL) title, demands increased yet the cash flow had not grown but we resolved our issues and agreed to grow the club again," Kaweere said.
The just concluded season shows a side that has learnt from their lessons and are ready to challenge the big guns again.
Fufa Women Cup
Finals: She Corporate 0(5)-0(4) Rines
MVP: Amina Nababi (Rines)
Top scorer: Amina Nababi (Rines)
Best goalkeeper: Hadijah Nalongo (She Corporate)
Fair play: Wakiso Hill
