Mbarara City FC is a
football club in
Mbarara City
Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyaka ...
,
Uganda
}), 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 sou ...
. The team plays in the top division of Ugandan professional football, the
Star Times Uganda Premier League where they have been participating since 5 May 2017, after defeating Synergy FC in the
FUFA Big League
The Ugandan Big League is the second tier of Ugandan football pyramid.
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 the Federation ...
Play Offs, and the club uses
Kakyeka Stadium as their home hosting grounds. Mbarara City FC has more fans than any other team in the Western Region of Uganda.
History
The club was founded in 2010 as ''Citizens FC'', after the management of Citizens High School in
Mbarara
Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, ...
decided to create a team to play in mature competitions and help in nurturing football at the school.
The team played in the Western Uganda regional league starting from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, the team won the Western Uganda Regional League and was promoted to the FUFA Big League. In July 2016, Citizens FC was renamed Mbarara City FC, mainly to get acceptability and fan base among the people of Mbarara and the whole of Western Uganda. This coincided with the club being promoted to the topflight, the Uganda Premier League in its first season after adopting the name Mbarara City FC. The club clinched promotion after defeating Synergy 2-1 in the FUFA Big League playoffs on 5 May 2017.
2017/2018 Uganda Premier League Season
Mbarara City FC participated in the Uganda Premier League Season, the first division of the Uganda football league. In their first season in the top flight, it was the only team out of 16 that was based in Western Uganda. Its first game was played against
Bul FC
BIDCO Uganda Limited Jinja Football Club, also BUL Jinja FC, is a Ugandan football club from Jinja, in the Eastern Region of the country. The club is owned by BIDCO Uganda Limited, based in Jinja, Uganda. They play in the top division of Ug ...
on 12 September 2017, and the result was a goalless draw. This was followed by a 1-0 win against
Express FC
Express Football Club, abbreviated as Express, is a Ugandan football club from Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda. The club play their home games at the Muteesa II Wankulukuku Stadium.
History
Express FC is popularly referred to by ...
with a goal scored by Pitis Barenge, a Burundian International in the 73rd minute on 16 September.
The club finished 11th, avoiding relegation.
2018/19 Uganda Premier League Season
Mbarara City were excluded from the Uganda Premier League at the start of the season, after failing a ground inspection, but appealed the exclusion and were reinstated. Mbarara City were on top of the standings just after eight games with sixteen points. Paul Mucurezi scored the only goal against Bul to take Mbarara City to the top of the table for the first time in history. Mbarara City won its first four home games, a club record. Their first round match was rescheduled after they moved to the Kavumba recreation ground. Mbarara City played 3 matches at Kavumba and won all of them (Mbarara City 3-1 Express, Mbarara City 2-0 Maroons & Mbarara City 2-1 Villa). The club has since returned to Kakyeka stadium in Mbarara.
Stadium
The team play their home games at ''Kakyeka Stadium'', in Mbarara City,
which has a capacity of 10,000.
Supporters
The bulk of Mbarara City FC supporters come from the Western Ugandan districts of Mbarara, Isingiro, Ibanda, Kiruhura, Ntungamo, Sheema, Bushenyi and the country's Capital City of Kampala.
Notable players
*
Paul Mucureezi
*Hillary Mukundane
*Ivan Eyam
*
Ali Kimera
*
Ibrahim Orit
Ibrahim Orit (born 28 July 1998) is a Ugandan footballer who plays as a winger for Vipers SC and the Uganda national football team.
Early life
Orit was born in Soroti Hospital, Soroti, Uganda, as the second born in a family of six, though both ...
*Makueth Wol
*Brian Aheebwa
*Jude Ssemugabi
Jude Ssemugabi extends his stay at Mbarara FC
/ref>
*Martin Elugant
Achievements
*Western Regional League: 1
:: 2014
*FUFA Big League Playoffs: 1
::2017
References
External links
The Ankole Times
{{Ugandan Super League
Football clubs in Uganda
Western Region, Uganda
2010 establishments in Uganda