By 
Uganda Premier League (UPL) clubs are entering crunch time as FUFA’s groundbreaking women’s football integration strategy hits a defining moment ahead of the 2025/26 season.
After a transitional rollout last season, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has now moved into the second phase of its long-term plan, tightening the screws on licensing requirements and putting clubs on notice of what’s ahead.
Last season marked the beginning of a bold shift, with FUFA requiring every UPL club to either own a women’s football team or form an official partnership with a side playing in the FUFA Women Super League or Elite League.
Several clubs responded. KCCA FC adopted Kampala Queens as its official women’s outfit, SC Villa, the league’s record champions, partnered with Uganda Martyrs, while the prisons side, Maroons FC, continued running their already established She Maroons team. Vipers SC, the reigning champions, joined hands with Kawempe Muslim Ladies just to mention a few.
These early moves set the tone, but now, the pace is picking up. In a circular released this week, FUFA reminded all clubs that the 2025/26 season marks the final year where partnerships are still accepted. Clubs must now actively maintain their women’s teams, either through full ownership or a valid partnership, and anything less will not suffice.
Fast forward to the 2026/27 season, partnerships will no longer count. FUFA will require every UPL club to have a fully owned and structured women’s team, managed, financed, and developed under the same badge, failure to which will force clubs out of Uganda’s first division football.
FUFA is already planning the launch of a brand-new, top-tier professional Women’s League featuring only women’s teams owned by UPL clubs. This exclusive league will mark a new chapter for Ugandan football with UPL-branded women’s teams, a stronger, marketable product, increased visibility for female talent, and pathways for girls to dream bigger.
FUFA has made it clear that this isn’t a token initiative. Clubs that don’t comply with the integration strategy will face licensing sanctions, and that could mean exclusion from the league altogether.
Uganda has never been short of women’s football talent, and what’s been missing is consistent institutional support, and FUFA’s strategy is now forcing clubs to be part of the solution, not just passive observers.
