A new chapter in Ugandan football took shape on Monday as El Cambio Football Academy unveiled its modern training facility, a project built to blend elite sport with education and character development for young players in the Masaka sub region.
The facility was launched on December 22, 2025, with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni officiating alongside academy founder Thomas Thor and other officials.
El Cambio’s ambition goes beyond producing footballers. The academy is designed as a pathway that shapes disciplined athletes and responsible citizens.
At the launch, the President praised the academy’s holistic approach, noting its focus on changing lives both on and off the pitch through a balance of football, education and values.
That vision is already showing results. El Cambio has grown into one of Uganda’s most respected talent hubs, with players stepping from local grounds onto the international stage.
The academy had representatives at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar and continues to make its mark at the ongoing AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco.
One of its brightest products, James Bogere, earned a place in the 28 man Uganda Cranes squad for AFCON 2025. His rise reflects a wider success story at the academy.
Alongside fellow graduate Hamuza Sengooba, Bogere has secured a professional move to Danish top-flight side AGF, a clear signal of El Cambio’s growing reputation as a bridge to European football.
The Masaka facility matches those ambitions. It features a standard size artificial turf pitch, a fully equipped gym, medical and video analysis rooms, dormitories, classrooms, a trophy cabinet and a kitchen, all aimed at creating a professional, all-round environment for player development.
Founder Thomas Thor described the academy as a long-term investment in Uganda’s future, built to equip young people with skills, discipline and opportunity.
With its doors now open, El Cambio Football Academy stands as proof of what clear vision and structured development can achieve, a place where raw talent is refined and the next generation of Ugandan footballers begins its journey.
