Uganda Martyrs WFC has gone through a squad rehash in the off-season, selling some key players and bringing in some fresh faces.
They are one of the best teams in the league, but it will be interesting to see whether this squad refresh takes a toll in the short term.
Rogers Nkugwa and the team have many goals to accomplish after winning the 2023 FUFA Women’s Cup. They’ll be hoping to defend the cup and also to lift their maiden league title.
They are consistently competing for the biggest trophies, and anything short of winning is a failure. Here are the three things Uganda Martyrs are looking forward to achieving this new season.
1- Win The League
Uganda Martyrs Lubaga WFC came close to winning the FUFA Women Super League in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.
In the 2020/21 season, Uganda Martyrs finished third behind UCU Lady Cardinals and champions Lady Doves and in the 2021/22 season, the Lubaga-based club finished third behind Kampala Queens FC and Champions She Corporate FC.
Last season, Uganda Martyrs finished third for the third consecutive season however, they were 19 points behind the league winner Kampala Queens FC. A distance far from the glory.
In the 2021/22 season, Martyrs only needed 15 points in the last 5 games to win the league but they collected 8 points. Beating Tooro Queens FC and She Maroons FC, shared spoils with Kampala Queens FC and Kawempe Muslim FC before they lost 4-2 to UCU Lady Cardinals in the last league game.
They fired coach Rogers Nkugwa with five games to the end of the league, something that many believed was a big mistake as the Lubaga side was only four points behind table leaders She Corporate FC at the time.
With the return of Rogers Nkugwa working with Rajab Buyinza who was the assistant coach when Lady Doves lifted the 2020/21 league title, Uganda Martyrs are capable of making history to win their maiden league title.
It should be noted that the winner of the 2023/24 league, will represent Uganda in the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League Zonal Qualifiers.
2- Integrate the new signings
Uganda Martyrs have sold Catherine Nagadya, Patience Nabulobi and Esther Namusoke this off season, with the trio joining Kampala Queens FC.
They were key figures in the Uganda Martyrs squad, and each offered something different to Kiddawalime’s output on the pitch, especially Nagadya and Nabulobi.
Uganda Martyrs have signed over 8 players and some of them are expected to fill the gaps of those who left. Shakirah Nagudi is expected to fill the void of Patience Nabulobi while Sharon Kanyiginya is Nagadya’s replecement.
However, Brenda Munyana, Latifah Nakasi, Kevin Nakacwa, Sharon Kaidu, Shamusa Najjuma, and Sumayah Nalumu are other players who could lift the new players to reach the peak.
Despite losing three good players, Uganda Martyrs’ transfer business makes them an even stronger team compared to last season’s side.
3- Win the Women’s Cup
It is funny to think that winning the FUFA Women’s Cup is a lesser goal for Uganda Martyrs Lubaga WFC, but winning this season could be very significant for the club.
There’s no club that has won two successive FUFA Women’s Cup. Only Uganda Martyrs, She Makerere FC, UCU Lady Cardinals and Olila HS WFC are the only clubs to win the title, each once. To be able to win it back-to-back would bring great joy to Kiddawalime fans.
It will be a tough season, and Uganda Martyrs will need to accomplish the second goal mentioned to gain consistency during the season.
It will help that Kawempe are also going through a transition and have loaned their best 3 players to rivals Kampala Queens FC, while Kampala Queens FC, will be under pressure to retain the title.
