2012-13 Uganda champions Maroons’ relegation from the Premier League has finally been confirmed by yesterday’s results.
Their only other two league titles came in 1968 and 1969 – then as Prisons – won the gong with two games to spare.
Fans, administrators and players alike have admitted that the club’s torrid season has reduced them to tears and a return to the Fufa Big League is all but certain.
The Luzira Prisons side are now rooted to the bottom of the league table having amassed just three wins all season and a 24th defeat of the season sealed their fate.
They had gone into the game against Soana fully aware that anything short of victory would relegate them despite having three games still to play.
They gave their all against the hosts but like it’s been the story throughput the season, it wasn’t good enough after labouring for a 3-2 defeat at Kavumba Recreational Stadium.
“I’ve said since Christmas that we’re going down and for me it’s so unbelievably sad, so difficult to put into words,” said 27-year-old James Olupot who was raised by a Uganda Prisons warden father inside Luzira .
“Forget the Uganda Super League chaos, Maroons will be the biggest club to ever be relegated that way, in my mind. It’s been my life for such a long time and it’s breaking my heart to see. I won’t shed a tear now because I did that at Christmas. We’ve just got to accept it and get on with it.”
“The coaches made a grave mistake selling the best players and not replacing them for sustained results. The team that won the Big League was too good to be relegated. It breaks my heart to see our club going down in such fashion.
Needless to say, this Tuesday was a miserable day for Maroons supporters and everyone involved with the club, but it’s also a sad day in Uganda football history.
One of the ever-presents of the league since it’s the late 1960s, it’s surreal to think of a club of this size now playing in the lower league where they emerged champions last year to earn promotion to the Azam Uganda Premier League.
How Maroons’ trouble started
In mid-2013, Maroons SC ended a 44-year wait for silverware after winning the 2012/13 Bell Super League title. Their joy was short-lived though because they were unceremoniously relegated.
Prior to the champagne popping and just a week or so to the league kick-off, local football governing body Fufa had banned the new season’s start, saying some conditions like all 16 clubs being registered as directors and USL presenting the clubs’ share certificates to Fufa prior were not met.
The USL went ahead with the kick-off amid comedy our entertainment industry would have had help with. Officials from Fufa were allegedly paraded at different venues with orders to ensure games did not take off on September 9. Fufa all season maintained that the played games were illegal since match officials were never sanctioned by them.
Maroons anchored by controversial but brilliant coach Asaph Mwebaze won the SuperSport bankrolled Uganda Super League. Kampala City Council were also crowned winners of the parallel Fufa Super League in the same top-level football calendar.
After three months, the High Court in Kampala then temporarily stopped the 2014/15 Uganda Premier League from commencing. Maroons, one of the aggrieved clubs had raised a red flag after being unfairly excluded from taking part and yet it has never been relegated to a lower league.
Maroons’ petition against Fufa and its officials was as a result of alleged breach of the contract it had with them to play in the top flight football but the team was instead excluded from the new fixtures under unclear circumstances.
Further in its complaint, Maroons stated that in the football season of 2012/13, two parallel football leagues were created and that a deed of adherence was signed by it to play in the Uganda Super League and indicating how clubs would be relegated to the lower league.
It’s unclear why the court never bought any of this, but it has been more evident this season that Maroons SC has paid for its past sins.
