Ugandan Big League

FUFA Big League
Country Uganda
Confederation CAF
Founded 2009
Divisions 2
Number of teams 20
Level on pyramid 2
Promotion to Ugandan Super League
Relegation to Regional Leagues
Domestic cup(s) Ugandan Cup
2013-14 Uganda Big League

The Ugandan Big League is the second tier of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. The league was founded in 2009 and comprises two divisions known respectively as the Elgon Group and the Rwenzori Group .[1]

History

Original concept

The concept of re-structuring Ugandan football with the creation of a new second tier league was first mooted in October 2008 by FUFA. The new national first division league, known as the FUFA Big League (FBL), was to cater for leading sides in the five regions. Second tier sides at that time competed at the regional level, with many of them failing to cope with advancement whenever they gained promotion to the national Super League.[2]

FUFA Competitions Committee secretary, Moses Magogo, confirmed that qualification to the Super League through the regional mini leagues would be ended and replaced by promotion through the national first division league. A major objective of the initiative was to help raise the standard of football outside the Super League.[2]

Administration

The FUFA Big League (FBL) is managed by the FUFA Competitions Committee and was launched on 6 August 6, 2009. The following clubs are eligible to play in the FBL:

If there are more than 16 clubs in the FBL it is divided into two groups with each group being run as a league competition. However, if there are less than 17 clubs, the competition will be run as a single group league competition.[1]

The Competitions Committee set stringent standards for member clubs covering computer literacy, a sound bank account, stadia that meet FUFA standards, qualified coaches and doctors.[3] The initial requirements for clubs included:

Initial participants

The 16 clubs that competed in the first season of the FBL in 2009-10 were as follows:

Participating clubs Settlement Position in the 2008/09 season
Bishop Nankyama FC Bukalasa Semi-finalists from Buganda Regional League
Devine Waters FC Apac Third placed team from North Regional Super Mini League
Fort Hills FC Fort Portal Third placed team from West Regional Super Mini League
Gulu United FC Gulu
Jinja Arsenal FC Jinja
Jinja Municipal Council Hippos FC Jinja Runner-up from East Regional Super Mini League
KASE FC Kampala Third placed team from Kampala Regional Super Mini League
Maroons FC Kampala Runners-up from Kampala Regional Super Mini League
Masaka Municipal Council FC Masaka
Mbale Heroes FC Mbale Third placed team from East Regional Super Mini League
Mbarara United FC Mbarara Fourteenth team in Uganda Super League
Misindye FC Mukono Third placed team from Buganda Regional Super Mini League
Ndejje University FC Luwero Runners-up from Buganda Regional Super Mini League
Samba Boys FC Yumbe Runners-up from North Regional Super Mini League
Sharing Youth FC Kampala Seventeenth team in Uganda Super League
UTODA FC Kampala Semi-finalists from Kampala Regional League

[4][5]

Honours

Big League Championship Playoffs

Season Champions Result Runner-up Venue
2009-10 Maroons FC 2-0 Gulu United FC Masindi Municipal Stadium, Masindi
2010-11 Maji FC 5-2 Hoima-Busia FC Njeru Stadium, Jinja
2011-12 Entebbe Young FC 1-0 Kiira Young Namboole Stadium, Kampala
2012-13 Bright Stars FC 2-1 CRO FC Mehta Stadium, Lugazi
2013-14 Lweza FC 2-1 Sadolin Bugembe FC KCCA STADIUM, LUGOGO

Big League Promotion Playoffs

Season Winners Result Runner-up Venue
2009-10 UTODA FC 1-0 Misindye FC Kampala
2010-11 Bul FC 1-0 [aet] Iganga Municipal Council FC
2011-12 SC Victoria University 4-0 Aurum Roses FC Namboole Stadium, Kampala
2012-13 Soana FC 3-0 Koboko FC Mehta Stadium, Lugazi
2013-14

Big League Group Honours

Elgon Group

Season Group Winners Playoff Qualifier 1 Playoff Qualifier 2
2009-10 Gulu United FC (P) UTODA FC (P)
2010-11 Hoima-Busia FC (P) Bul FC (P) Iganga Municipal Council FC
2011-12 Entebbe Young FC (P) Mbarara Old Timers FC CRO FC
2012-13 CRO FC (P) Soroti Garage FC Mbale Heroes FC
2013-14

Rwenzori Group

Season Group Winners Playoff Qualifier 1 Playoff Qualifier 2
2009-10 Maroons FC (P) Misindye FC
2010-11 Maji FC (P) Boroboro Tigers FC CRO FC
2011-12 Kiira Young (P) SC Victoria University (P) Aurum Roses FC
2012-13 Bright Stars FC (P) Soana FC (P) Koboko FC
2013-14

Sponsorship

On 1 November 2013 it was announced that the Airtel Telecommunications company had signed a four-year contract providing a total of 400 million shillings (about 160,000 US dollars) towards funding different activities under both the FUFA Big League and the Ugandan Cup until 2016.[6]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 "FUFA BiG League" (Facebook). FUFA. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  2. 1 2 "Big league introduced". NewVision. 2008. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  3. 1 2 "FUFA sets tough rules for BIG League clubs". NewVision. 2010. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  4. "Uganda 2009/10 - RSSSF (Hans Schöggl and Ian King )". RSSSF Archive. 2009/10. Retrieved 2014-01-16. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. "FUFA Welcomes Five More Football Clubs to the Big League". Uganda Radio Network. 2010. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  6. "Big League clubs hail FUFA President, Airtel". FUFA. 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-17.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.