Kitara FC’s head of resource mobilisation, Deo Kasozi, has dismissed fears that the Uganda Premier League (UPL) would collapse if heavyweights Vipers SC, SC Villa, and NEC FC make good on threats to boycott the 2025/26 season over the newly introduced three-round format.
According to Kasozi, the stature of the three clubs does not outweigh the collective strength of the league. He argued that no side, regardless of its following, can hold Ugandan football hostage.
“I want to assure you, the costs of Vipers, Villa and NEC not playing are higher on their side than on the league as a whole,” Kasozi said as he appeared on NBS Sport.
“There’s no one bigger than a sector. Mulindwa (Vipers) has not played the Super 8, aren’t the games going on?” Former Kitara President, Deo Kasozi.#NBSportThePavilion#NBSportUpdates pic.twitter.com/d5Wa2CrNDY
— NBS Sport (@NBSportUg) September 12, 2025
He cited the recent FUFA Super 8 competition, staged successfully without Vipers, as evidence that tournaments remain viable even when marquee teams stay away.
“Yes, Vipers and Villa have big fan bases, but football does not stop because one or two teams are absent. The disadvantages would weigh more heavily on them than on the 13 clubs that remain,” he added.
Kasozi stressed that his respect for Vipers president Lawrence Mulindwa, a towering figure in the game, does not translate into agreement with Mulindwa’s stand against the reforms.
While he expects the clubs in question to eventually fall in line, Kasozi underlined that the UPL has the resilience to push forward under the revamped structure, which launches September 26 and will see three full rounds of action before a decisive six-team championship group crowns the campaign.
