By Our Reporter
On Saturday, Bulemeezi defeated Gomba in a thrilling encounter that ended 1 – 0 at Mutesa II Stadium, Wankulukuku to be crowned the 2023 Airtel Masaza Cup champions.
The 2023 tournament featured 18 counties of Buganda Kingdom which were pooled into three groups. Busiro, Gomba, Mawokota, Ssese, Mawogola, and Kabula made up the Muganzirwazza group. Masengere group comprised; Buddu, Buweekula, Kyaggwe, Kyaddondo, Buluuli, and Kkooki while Bulange was the third group, and it had Ssingo, Bulemeezi, Buvuma, Bugerere, and Busujju counties.
During the quarter-finals, Gomba from the Muganzirwazza group won their first leg 2-1 against Buddu from Masengere group, hence qualifying for the finals, while Bulemeezi from the Bulange group moved to the next stage after a 4-2 win against Mawokota in the nail-biting post-match penalties.
Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga congratulated the winners and all the teams that participated in the 2023 Masaza Cup tournament. He said, “We continue to witness exceptional talent, and I want to thank our partners, Airtel Uganda for making this possible. Such activities require a lot of support and over the years, Airtel has walked this journey with us by backing a number of initiatives spearheaded by the Kingdom which has enabled us to sustain activities like the Masaza Cup tournament year after year.”
Initiated in 2004, the Masaza Cup Football Tournament is a Buganda Kingdom asset aimed at grooming talent among the youth across the different Counties or Masaza’s that make up the Buganda Kingdom and the surrounding regions.
This year’s edition was run under the theme “Men in the fight against HIV/AIDs to save the girl child”, drawing attention to societal issues affecting the community. It highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the HIV/AIDs epidemic’s impact on the girl child and the role that men can play in prevention and support.
