Ivan Bukenya (born 1 November 1991) is a

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. Bukenya has formerly played for FC Linkoping City, Erbil FC in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

East Bengal FC East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Club career

Bukenya began his football journey in July 2007 during the visit of

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and was ...

. He was playing for a

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

select youth side coached by Mike Mutebi with the likes of Ibrahim Juma, Andrew Buteera and Dennis Guma where they played against Proline FC youngsters. Being on the Coca-Cola side was a vindication of a burgeoning star that was Bukenya and he eventually signed for the

Ugandan Super League The Ugandan Premier League, also known as the StarTimes Uganda Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. The league was previously known as the Uganda Super League but changed in ...

club. Ferdinand was impressed enough by the talent on show to work on the Proline Academy, which Bukenya was now part of travelling to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and play games against the academy sides of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and West Ham United in October of that year. He scored regularly in the

and was highlighted as an aerial threat during corner-kicks and free-kicks for Proline FC. Bukenya's game reading and ability to move the ball on the overlap was arguably one of his greatest strengths in Mujib Kasule's team, where he broke through.

Arbil SC

Ivan Bukenya played for the Iraqi club

Arbil SC Erbil Sports Club ( ar, نادي أربيل الرياضي, ) is a sports club based in the city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region that plays in the Iraqi Premier League, the first-tier of Iraqi football. The club is also known as "Yaney Hewlêr", the ...

in Arbil in the

elite league where he reached the

2012 AFC Cup The 2012 AFC Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four year ...

final against

Al Kuwait Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

and helped win the 2011–12 Iraqi Premier League. On 14 February 2013 Bukenya scored the winning goal in a 0–1 away win against

Al-Zawraa Al-Zawraa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الزوراء الرياضي) is an Iraqi sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team compete in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi footbal ...

at the Al-Shaab Stadium in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. On 5 March 2013 he scored the second goal in a 4–0 home win in the

2013 AFC Cup group stage The group stage of the 2013 AFC Cup was played from 26 February to 1 May 2013. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage. Draw The draw for the group stage was held on 6 December 2012, 15:00 UTC+8, at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ...

game against

Al-Ahli Taizz S.C. Ahli Taiz ( ar, نادي أهلي تعز) is a Yemeni football club based in Ta'izz. The club was founded in 1950. 15,000 capacity Al Shohada Stadium is their home. They play in the Yemeni League. Achievements * Yemeni Presidents Cup: 1 ** 2012 ...

from

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. Bukenya continued his scoring record against the same team on 24 April 2013 when he scored the fourth and final goal in another 0–4 route. On 27 June 2013 he took part in and scored the fourth goal in the biggest home win and highest-scoring game of the

2012–13 Iraqi Premier League 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season when they beat

Al-Mina'a SC Al-Minaa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الميناء الرياضي, lit=Port Sports Club) is an Iraqi multi-sport club based in Al-Maqal, Basra that participates in the Iraq Division One, the second tier of Iraqi football. It is one of the m ...

8-1 at the

Franso Hariri Stadium Franso Hariri Stadium ( Kurdish: یاریگای فرانسۆ ھەریری, Yarîgay Franso Herîrî; Arabic: ملعب فرانسوا حريري) is a multi-purpose stadium in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football m ...

Kaizer Chiefs

Bukenya began training with South African

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

team

on 12 September 2013 and he signed a 2-year deal with the club on 30 September 2013 after impressing coach

Stuart Baxter Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is a British football manager and former player who most recently managed South African Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs. Born in England of Scottish parentage, and brought up in both countr ...

and the technical team. He is the second

after

David Obua David Obua (born 10 April 1984) is a Ugandan football coach and former player. He is the assistant coach of Maroons FC in the Ugandan Premier League. During his playing career, Obua played for Police FC, Raleigh Capital Express, Wilmingto ...

to sign for the South African giants. On 13 October 2013 Bukenya made his debut in the Macufe Cup against

Bloemfontein Celtic Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club (simply known as Celtic) is a South African amateur football club based in Bloemfontein that competes in the ABC Motsepe League, the third tier of the South African football league system. Bloemfontein Celtic has ...

in a packed Free State Stadium. The Chiefs lost the game 1-0 with Bukenya playing the full 90 minutes and impressing Amakhosi fans as well as the coach. On 4 December 2013 Bukenya came on as a late substitute at

Charles Mopeli Stadium Charles Mopeli Stadium is located in Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa. It is mostly used by the PSL club Free State Stars and the National First Division club African Warriors African Warriors are a South African football club based in Phuthaditjha ...

to make his PSL debut in a 0-2 win over

Free State Stars Free State Stars Football club is a South African professional football club based in Bethlehem, Free State that plays in the National First Division. Formerly known as Makwane Computer Stars and Qwa Qwa Stars, their most significant honour i ...

. On 8 March 2014 Bukenya played the full 90 minutes of the

2014 CAF Champions League The 2014 CAF Champions League (also known as the 2014 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 18th edi ...

first-round game that saw his team beat

Liga Muçulmana de Maputo Liga Desportiva de Maputo is a Mozambican association football club based in Maputo, Mozambique that plays in the country's top football division, Moçambola. One of the richest clubs in Mozambique, it was founded on 8 November 1990 and has won ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

3-0 in the 2nd leg. Bukenya tasted his first Soweto derby on 15 March 2014 as the Amakhosi won 1-0 in a League clash at Soccer City. He scored his first goal for Chiefs on 26 March 2014 in the Nedbank Cup last 16 in 2-1 win over

FC Buffalo FC Buffalo is an American association football, soccer club based in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York (state), New York, United States, with teams in men's and women's soccer. Founded in 2009, the men's team plays in the National Premier So ...

. He said "I feel good...I feel motivated and hope to improve on the missed chances in future. It is about teamwork and the coaches planning. It is all about the right training...this is good but it is not my best.". On 10 May 2014 Bukenya was voted Absa Premiership

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

as Kaizer Chiefs beat

AmaZulu F.C. AmaZulu Football Club (Simply often known as AmaZulu) is a South African professional soccer club based in the city of Durban in the KwaZulu Natal province, that plays in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African football l ...

3-0 in the final game of the season. On 19 October 2014 bukenya played in the 0-1 win over Ajax Cape Town to set a new South African Premier League (PSL) record of 15 successive wins.

East Bengal

Bukenya signed

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

team

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

on 28 November 2016. Bukenya was offloaded by Chiefs in June, 2016 after a difficult stay which brought him a mere 22 starts in close to three years. After his release from Naturena the defender-cum-midfielder headed back home to Uganda where he trained with his former club Proline FC before switching to Bengal in December. With the I-League a game away from the halfway stage, Bukenya played a key role in helping Bengal to the top of the standings and is one of just five players to have played all games. He scored thrice playing as a central defender in the I-League, which runs until May before making way for the Indian Super League.

Linköping City

In April 2018, Bukenya signed a contract for the rest of 2018 with Swedish Division 1 club FC Linköping City. Bukenya was close to a perfect debut as FC Linköping City premiere played against Nyköping BIS in Division 1 North. The match ended 1-1 after City got a cannon shot when the new acquisition of Ivan Bukenya after 15 minutes knocked 1-0 into a well-frustrated free kick by Ilir Terbunja, who completely dismissed Bukenya in the area of the penalty area. "A nice feeling to get your ball, it's always fun to score, but the most important thing is that the team is performing," Bukenya said after the match. He was released by FC Linköping City in December 2018. He died last night on October 5, 2020

International career

He has represented Uganda at all junior levels and is a current senior national team player. Bukenya was part of the successful Uganda U20 side that finished as winners of the 2010

CECAFA U-20 Championship The CECAFA U-20 Championship is a football (soccer) tournament in Africa. It is organised by the CECAFA, Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA), and includes national under 20 teams from Central Africa, Central and East Af ...

beating the host nation Eritrea U20 in the final after they beat local rivals Kenya U20 2-1 in the semi-final. Bukenya was also part of the Uganda U23 side that hammered

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

's U23 team 5-2 on aggregate and thrashed

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

's U23 team 5-1 in the first leg en route to qualifying for the

2011 All-Africa Games The 10th All-Africa Games took place between September 3–18, 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique. Maputo's hosting marked the third time the Games was held in the southern part of the continent. Host awarding In April 2005, Lusaka, Zambia was named t ...

held in

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

, Mozambique. After a fine season with Proline FC he was rewarded with selection by Bobby Williamson to take part in the

2011 African Nations Championship The 2011 African Nations Championship was the second edition of the African Nations Championship tournament. Each participating nation was represented mostly by players who play in their respective local divisions. The competition was hosted in S ...

held in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

where he played every game at the heart of the defence. on 1 June 2013 he played in the 3–0 loss to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

which was also the first test for newly appointed coach

Milutin Sredojević Milutin Sredojević ( sr-Cyrl, Милутин Средојевић; born 1 September 1969), simply known as Micho, is a Serbian Association football, football manager who currently serves as the head coach of the Uganda national football team. He ...

as they prepared to host

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

on 8 June in a crucial

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

game.

Style of play

When he completed his move,

and

captain

Itumeleng Khune Itumeleng Issac Khune (born 20 June 1987) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as goalkeeper for Kaizer Chiefs in the Premier Soccer League, and also the South African national team. He is the captain of both. Khune shot ...

said "He is a very good player; the height, the physique and he is quick. He is a complete player, but all I can say is wait for Macufe and you will see what he has in store for us".Itumeleng Khune Ivan Bukenya Kaizer Chiefs – News
Kick Off (3 October 2013).

Personal life

Bukenya was born to Fred Yiga, a renowned civil servant at the

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

City Council (KCC) and Justine Nantume. His mother was a tennis player in her youth and it was her inspiration and funding of youth football tournaments around her home area that encouraged Bukenya to become a top professional. Youth coach Moses Kibirango said "When a parent like Bukenya's mother shows much interest in her son's development as a footballer, it makes it easy for a coach to work with the player". After her death in 2010 he contemplated quitting game.

Honours

2014-15

Club

Kaizer Chiefs Absa Premier League .Champion(1):2014-2015 .MTN 8(1):2014 .Macufe Cup: .Carling Black Label Cup(1) 2013 ;Arbil SC * Iraqi Premier League: : Champion (1): 2011–12. : Runner-up (1):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

: ::

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

: Runner-up ::

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: Round of 16 ::.Proline Fc ::Most Valuable Player (MVP):2011-2012

Country

;Uganda-U20 *

: 2010

References

External links

*
en.soccerwiki.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bukenya, Ivan 1991 births Living people Ugandan men's footballers Footballers from Kampala Proline FC players Kaizer Chiefs F.C. players East Bengal Club players FC Linköping City players I-League players Ettan Fotboll players Uganda men's international footballers Ugandan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's footballers in Iraq Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in India Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Iraq Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Men's association football central defenders Men's association football midfielders Uganda men's under-20 international footballers Uganda men's A' international footballers 2011 African Nations Championship players