BUL FC teenagers – Richard Okello, Innocent Rwothomio, Julius Baraza and Swabiru Mpasa have signed their first senior contracts with the club.
Striker Innocent Rwothomio during a Juniors league action for BUL FC JT
After showing outstanding performances at the juniors’ side, the quartet were drafted into the first team where they equally impressed last season, and each has now penned a three year contract with the Eastern Giants.
Okello scored thirteen goals in eighteen matches as the junior team qualified for the national juniors’ league championship. Rwothomio bagged twelve in thirteen games. Both featured in six and five first team games respectively.
Mpasa, who plays as midfielder, played one match with the senior team. He scored five goals in seventeen outings for the age group side, while defender Baraza made three appearances at the first team, and seventeen with the under 17 category
BUL Football Club can confirm the signing of Edrine Mukisa Opaala from Busoga United. The attacking midfielder has signed a two year contract with us.
A product of Jinja SS, the 19 year old arrives at the Eastern Giants with a wealth of topflight football in his legs after playing in the Uganda premier league for the past three seasons.
“Opaala is still young and has been playing well, assisting and doing so many things. We thought it was high time he joins a good team like BUL so that he can excel with his talent,” head coach Abbey Kikomeko Bogere said.
“I know his ability, I know the kind of football he plays and the kind of passes he crafts. He will actually add creativity to our midfield.”
“He is a product of Copa Coca Cola schools tournament and majority of these players have excelled, and they have gone as far as playing professional football.”
“So we thought bringing him on board at BUL will be a better achievement for him.”
After signing for the Eastern Giants, Opaala said;
“I am excited to join the BUL family. I thank the management for the opportunity given to me, I am ready to compete.”
Opaala was named the 2019 Copa Coca Cola Most Valuable Player and won the same award in the Busoga Masaza Cup when he was playing for Buzaya County in the 2019 edition.
Alex Kitata has completed the transfer from Gaddafi FC to BUL.
The experienced striker joins the Eastern Giants on a two-year contract to bolster the forward line. He scored eight goals in 26 league appearances for the Soldier Boys last campaign, helping them avoid relegation to finish 11th.
On becoming a BUL player, Kitata said:
“I am thrilled to join one of the best teams in the country. My primary role is to score goals and I believe if we work together as a team, we shall score lots of goals and win more games.”
Head coach Abbey Kikomeko Bogere said:
“As much as I have an experienced forward in Ssekamatte, I wanted to add on another experienced striker, and that is Kitata. I think with the help of the young lads around, and the experience of Ssekamatte and Kitata, we shall get good results.”
“I looked at his experience and the work rate, and he knows where to put the ball.”
“He scored eight goals last season, and where he is now, there are midfielders who can feed him well. And with the playing style we are going to adopt, I think he will give us good goals and I expect much from him.”
A pacey striker and proven goal scorer, Kitata brings huge pile of experience to BUL having played for The Saints, SC Villa, Kitara, UPDF (two spells) in the Uganda Premier League. He also featured for Rwandan side Kiyovu Sports Club on a short stint.
BUL Football Club is pleased to announce the signing of defender Nicholas Mwere.
The 22-year-old left back joins from Busoga United and has signed a three year contract with the Eastern Giants.
Nicholas Mwere (left} has re united with coach Abbey Kikomeko
One of the highly rated young defenders in Uganda, Mwere played for JIPRA in the secondary schools competitions and Kakira Town Council in the lower divisions of Jinja district at a tender age before he moved to Busoga United in 2021 where he played for the last two seasons in the Uganda premier league.
He is bully and a rock solid young player who often frightens strikers.
BUL FC head coach, Abbey Kikomeko Bogere, said:
“When you look at the backline of our team, we had a loophole on the left side. So, I opted for Mwere.”
“I looked at his height, and his work rate. He is a young player and a promising defender.”
“I expect him to become a better defender now that he has joined BUL.”
Nicholas Mwere said:
“I am excited to join BUL FC, the Eastern Giants.”
“BUL is a winning team, they recently won the Uganda cup and I expect to win with them more titles.”
“I will try to defend better as well as attack at the same time to help the team achieve its targets. We are going to work together and win together.”
BUL FC has today parted ways with five more players, including two junior team graduates.
Owen Mukisa (in red) captained BUL FC in a Uganda cup semi final against Express
Paul Ssekulima joined the Eastern Giants in January 2023 but both parties have agreed to end the contract on mutual terms.
Aggrey Madoi is another player set to leave the club. Since 2020, Madoi has been one of the vital pillars at the team, helping BUL reach the first ever Uganda cup final in 2021 before playing a key part as the Eastern Giants won the competition a year later.
Our junior team graduates – Edrine Cavan Mawerere, Herbert Onyango and Owen Mukisa have also left the club. The latter shone to fame when he became the youngest player ever to captain the Eastern Giants and also scored a 26th minute goal against Express to send BUL to the Uganda Cup final in 2021 at FUFA Technical Centre.
We highly appreciate their efforts and commitment to the club; and wish them the best in their future endeavors.
BUL FC has completed the signing of Lawrence Tezikya from Vipers SC, with the striker penning a two year contract with the Eastern Giants.
Tezikya’s career in first-team football started at Busoga United, having risen through the youth ranks at Jinja SS.
Coach Abbey Kikomeko and Lawrence Tezikya have re united at BUL
The 22 year old striker made his senior club debut in the 2018/19 season when he came on as substitute during the Uganda premier league barren draw against Maroons FC at the Mighty Arena in Jinja city. He scored five goals in eight appearances that campaign.
He then earned a move to Vipers in 2020 before he secured a loan transfer to Maroons last season.
“Tezikya is one of the strikers I have looked at. He is still young, has passion for the game and he is promising,” head coach Abbey Kikomeko said.
“He is a kind of a player who wants to prove that he can be one of the best top strikers in the country.”
“I expect so much from him and I believe he will deliver.”
“He performed well in the previous schools tournaments and he has been gradually developing and improving. So I saw that when I bring him at BUL to compete with his former teammates like Joel Madondo, the club will benefit.”
“I expect to see good goals and fantastic performances from their partnership. They have been together, they have worked together before and they know each other very well.”
Nicknamed ‘Enzo,’ Tezikya helped Jinja SS win the Copa Coca-Cola schools championship in 2017, and emerged as the competition’s top scorer in 2018 and 2019. He is also a product of the FUFA juniors league.
BUL FC has completed the signing of Joel Madondo from Gaddafi FC.
The forward has signed a one year renewable contract with the Eastern Giants.
Coach Abbey Kikomeko (left) with new signing Joel Madondo (right)
Madondo arrives at BUL with a lot of experience in the Uganda premier league after featuring for Busoga United and Gaddafi where he played over two stints. He scored one goal last season.
Following extraordinally performances and excellent goal poaching prowess at Busoga United, Madondo moved to Wydad Casablanca in January 2020 but mutually left the Morocco giants seven months later to return home, before he had another short trade across the borders with Tanzania second division club Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) in January 2022.
He guided Uganda Cranes to the CECAFA senior challenge cup title in 2019 when he scored an important goal in the 3-0 win over Eritrea at Lugogo.
He is also a Copa Coca Cola winner with Jinja SS in 2017.
BUL Football Club is proud to announce the signing of Uganda Cranes goalkeeper Joel Mutakubwa from Gaddafi FC.
Head coach Abbey Kikomeko (left) with Joel Mutakubwa alias Varma (Right)
The 29-year-old goalkeeper, who lifted the CECAFA Kagame Cup with Express FC in 2021, has signed a two year contract with the club.
For his eye catching performances at the local scene, Mutakubwa was summoned for the Uganda Cranes duty at the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) early this year in Algeria.
He has previously played for Busoga United (Kirinya Jinja SS), Kyetume, Tooro United and Express in the Uganda Premier League.
Three players have been given the green light to leave the Eastern Giants after their employment contracts with the club expired.
They include; Richard Wandyaka, Ivan Wani and goalkeeper Emmanuel Kalyowa.
Wandyaka has been one of the longest serving players at the club, playing six seasons for the Eastern Giants since joining in 2017 from URA. Last season, he scored four goals and made a couple of assists.
Goalkeeper Kalyowa first played for the club between 2015 and 2017 before he returned in 2021.
Wani also joined us two years ago, scoring one goal in the just concluded campaign.
The three played a key role in our fantastic run in the 2021/22 season, leading the club to the famous Uganda cup title and a fourth place league finish.
We thank them for their efforts and commitment to club and wish them the best in their future endeavors.
BUL FC will be targeting to end this campaign on a positive note when they travel to Luzira prisons grounds for a Uganda premier league match with Maroons on Saturday.
The Eastern Giants at this hour lie eighth in the table, while the prison warders are in fifth with 40 points, one behind Arua Hill in fourth place.
BUL looked like winning their first game in thirteen matches on Tuesday, as they frustrated Vipers and also took charge of the game midway the second half but Bright Anukani scored a last minute penalty at FUFA technical centre for the Venoms to deny Simeon Masaba his first win at the club.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has largely been a low season for the Eastern Giants, who have won eight, drawn 11 and lost eight of their 27 league games to count 35 points, which is only enough for eighth position in the table going into the final fixtures of the season.
They finished fourth last season but this time, BUL can only finish as high as the seventh place if they win but can also drop as low as 10th with a defeat here if other results go against them.
Team News
BUL remain without the services of rocky defender Walter Ochora and midfielder Emmanuel Kalyowa due to injuries. But those are the only absentees for this match, with the rest of the players available and ready for selection.
Walter Ochora is injured
It’s now or never for the Eastern Giants to win a game in the second round this season as this is the ultimate match of the campaign.
Coach Simeon Masaba is aware of the improvements the opposition side have made since losing to BUL in December and will employ a secret tactic that will give BUL the edge over Maroons who have proved to be very stubborn at home of recent.
“The boys have prepared well and ready for the encounter,” coach Masaba said.
“In the first leg, we beat Maroons 5-0 but we are not banking on that for this game because they have improved alot since that loss, and they are even ahead of us in terms of points.”
“But we are going to see how we handle them and get the positive results.”
Samuel Ssekamatte said;
“It’s yet another game for us on Saturday. it’s a big one as well.”
“Looking at where we have come from, there has been alot of improvement for the boys in the last five games.”
“I believe if we carry the same positive attitude we exhibited against Vipers to Maroons, and if we use the same character like in the previous games, we are going to get the win.”
“It’s long now ever since we last won and we are going to do our best to get the victory although it’s not going to be easy.”
“Having lost to us in the first round, they are coming to revenge but I believe the boys are prepared for the challenge.”
Head to Head
In the last seven years, the sides have clashed nine times, resulting into seven BUL wins and two for Maroons.
Last four encounters
October 1, 2019
BUL FC 2-0 Maroons
January 30, 2019
BUL FC 1-0 Maroons
October 30, 2018
Maroons 1-2 BUL FC
December 21, 2023
BUL FC 5-0 Maroons
Match facts
BUL have collected eleven points from 13 away matches as a result of two wins, five draws and six losses, scoring eleven goals and conceding thirteen in the process.
Although the Eastern Giants have gone 13 league games without winning, they have lost once in their previous six matches, drawing in five and keeping clean sheets in two.
The 1-0 win over Arua Hill in December remains the only victory for BUL away from home and the team has since lost four games and drawn three in their past seven trips.
Of the 23 goals in the last nine games between the two teams, BUL have eighteen (18) to their account.
It’s two wins for each team in the previous four BUL treks to the prison warders.
From a possible 39 points, Maroons have picked 26 as a result of their seven wins, five draws and one loss in 13 home matches.
In the process, they have also scored 18 goals and conceded eight, and standing out as one of the four sides with the best home record this campaign after losing only one game from Luzira.
Since the 3-1 loss to Blacks Power in December, Maroons are unbeaten in nine matches at the prisons grounds, winning five and drawing four games there.
Match Coverage
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