Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Netball Club finally finished as the table leaders after beating Prisons Netball Club 44-41 to see both the club and Veteran Coach Fred Mugerwa winning their first ever Netball Super League amidst the absence of the trophy.
In a do or die encounter that took place on Monday, December 29 at Nakivubo Stadium, Kampala, KCCA under Mugerwa started slowly but took early control of the game, winning the first quarter 12-11 and further stretching the lead to four goals at halftime, leading 24-20.
With the slim win, the long-contesting side avoided repeating the same errors they committed in 2023 when they lost to the same opponent on the last day of the season, losing a trophy as well.
With much endurance, KCCA faced a lot of resistance from Prisons and dropped their lead at different stages of the game, but towards the end of the third quarter, they regained the momentum and finished with a three-goal lead, 34-31.
In the last quarter, KCCA played more of a maintenance game, trying to guard their lead before the umpires called it a day, with KCCA taking the day with a 44-41 final score, beating the previous league winners.
Following a hard-fought win, KCCA Third Captain Norah Lunkuse joyfully noted,
“We’re so thankful to the Lord for this win. This has been our first time winning this trophy. We have been finishing 3rd or 2nd in the past seasons, but we’re so grateful to God that we have won our first trophy.”
Continuing with dry celebrations, head coach Fred Mugerwa stated.
We have won the league but not the trophy because we haven’t seen it yet. The secret behind winning this trophy is working together as a team. We have been few in number (13) throughout, but we have managed to reach here.
This would not be the first time to win this league, but there has been a lot of politics behind it. For the past three seasons, we have been finishing second, but we have kept pushing until we got the first trophy for KCCA,” he added.
In 2023, it was the same team, Prison Netball Club, that beat KCCA 46-41 to lift the trophy. KCCA had control of the top seat on the table until the last day when they lost to Prisons.
For starters, this is the first edition in the recent past to have a large number of walkovers across three divisions, as it is indicated by statistics available. The final weekend alone has produced five walkovers.
Even worse, Contestants NIC Netball Club got three walkovers along the way, including their final fixture against UCU Angles, which gave them a chance to lead the League before KCCA NC’s final game.
Again, to note, Life Sport alone gave away 12 walkovers in the whole season. Posta and UCU are among the teams that failed to make it on the match days and handed away walkovers. The three leagues, the two for females and one for men, have registered over 32 walkovers.
Not like it was in the previous season 2022/23, where the winner automatically took the trophy home immediately after the final whistle.
By hearsay, the few members who were available at the venue on the climax asserted that the trophy will be awarded on a certain date that the federation will announce.
