Ugandan football has chalked up another landmark moment, and it comes courtesy of 20-year-old forward John Paul Dembe, who has broken new ground by securing a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stages with Swedish side BK Häcken.
For the first time, a Ugandan player will grace this stage of Europe’s third-tier club competition, and fittingly, it is Dembe, the former KCCA FC prodigy, carrying the flag.
Häcken’s journey to this point was not straightforward. The Swedes had ambitions of reaching the UEFA Europa League but were derailed by a stubborn Norwegian outfit, SK Brann, in the qualifiers. That setback dropped them into the Conference League playoffs, where they were paired with Romanian heavyweights CFR Cluj.
The tie, however, turned into a demolition job. Playing the first leg at home, Häcken dismantled Cluj 7–2, and it was Dembe who stole the spotlight. Introduced from the bench midway through the second half, the Ugandan teenager electrified the crowd with a brace that sealed the rout.
That dazzling cameo forced the manager’s hand. Dembe was rewarded with a starting role in the return fixture in Romania, lasting 71 minutes in a hard-fought 1-0 defeat. The scoreline mattered little, Häcken advanced 7–3 on aggregate and booked their ticket to the group stages.
UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE 👋 #bkhäcken pic.twitter.com/W0pg4s7rzB
— BK Häcken (@bkhackenofcl) August 28, 2025
For the youngster, this achievement is simply the latest step in a meteoric rise. Since swapping Lugogo for Gothenburg, Dembe has steadily grown in confidence, his name increasingly whispered in the same breath as Uganda’s most promising exports.
His exploits in Europe have also boosted his stock back home. Dembe has already been included in the Uganda Cranes’ provisional squad for September’s World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Mozambique. By the time he checks into camp next week, he won’t just be another squad member, he will be celebrated as the pioneer who carried Ugandan football into a new European frontier.
