2019 has been a busy sports year and Eagle Online looks back at some of the most notable sports events that made headlines in Uganda and all-over the world.
The 2018/19 StarTimes Uganda Premier League season was won by KCCA FC who were crowned champions for the 13th time. Nyamityobora, Ndejje University and Paidha Black Angels were relegated to the Fufa Big League while Kyetume, Proline and Wakiso Giants were promoted to the top tier.
Proline FC walked away with their first-ever domestic double, winning the FUFA Big League and the Stanbic Uganda Cup. They edged Wakiso Giants 1-0 in the Big League final and fought back to win 5-4 in post-match penalties against Bright Stars in the Uganda Cup after a one-all draw in normal time
Uganda Cranes defeated Eritrea 3-0 to win a record 15th regional 2019 CECAFA senior Challenge Cup on 19th Decmber. Bright Anukani, Mustafa Kizza and Joel Madondo scored for the Cranes. The tournament was hosted at STartTimes stadium in Lugogo, Kampala.
Cranes qualified for the 2020 TOTAL Championship of African Nations (Chan) finals after humbling Burundi in the qualifiers. The tournament that features only home-based players will be played in Cameroon.
Acholi Province were crowned champions of the 2019 FUFA Drum Tournament. The land mark feat was achieved after winning against Bukedi 5-3 in the post-match penalty shoot-out following a goal-less draw in normal time.
Allan Okello and Juliet Nalukenge were crowned as the best Airtel Male and Female respective most valuable players of the year, 2019 during a glamorous awards night held at the Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala. Both players were rewarded by Shs 1M, a trophy, medal and drove home with a car each.
FUFA President Eng. Moses Magogo was elected as the new Caf Executive Member for the East and Central zone. Magogo obtained 33 votes out of 54 defeating the President of Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Tenga Leodegar who received 19.
FIFA suspended Magogo for two months and fined him Swiss franc CHF 10,000 (approximately 37M Ugshs) after investigations into the 2014 FIFA World Cup ticket saga. He returned to office on 10th December.
On July 7, Sebastien Desabre resigned as the Cranes head coach after Uganda suffered a 1-0 loss to Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match.
On September 30, Northern Irish UEFA Pro licensed football manager Johnathan McKinstry was appointed the new Uganda Cranes head coach on a three year contract.
Uganda finished ninth overall out of the forty-three nations at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar with two gold medals. The first gold medal came in women’s 800m race when Halimah Nakaayi clocked a time of 1:58.04, a national record. Afterwards, Joshua Cheptegei won the last event of the World Athletics Championships, taking gold in the 10,000m race with 26:48.36.
Long distance athlete Joshua Cheptegei won the final 5,000m race of the IAAF Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland. Cheptegei set a new personal best of 12.57.41 to win a Diamond Trophy at the prize money of $50,000 (Sh184 million). Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet came second within a time 12:58.15.
Algeria were crowned Africa Cup of Nations champion for only the second time in their history, edging past Senegal 1-0 thanks to Baghdad Bounedjah’s early deflected goal.
Tunisia’s Esperance were declared winners of the African Champions League by CAF following a long legal battle after Wydad Casablanca stormed off in protest during the second leg of the final in May due to a fault with the Video Assistant Referee.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player for a record sixth time. It is the 32-year-old Argentine’s first Ballon d’Or since 2015 and comes after he scored 54 times for club and country in 2018-19, in which Barca won La Liga.
Lionel Messi also took home the leading honour for The Best FIFA Men’s Player after his outstanding 2018/19 campaign which saw him scoop club silverware and individual accolades.
Eliud Kipchoge became the first athlete to run a marathon in under two hours, beating the mark by 20 seconds. The Kenyan, 34, covered the 26.2 miles (42.2km) in one hour 59 minutes 40 seconds in the Ineos 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria
Gianni Infantino was re-elected in June as the president of football’s world governing body FIFA for the next four years. The 49-year old Swiss-Italian was re-elected unopposed at the 69th Fifa’s annual congress in Paris.
Tiger Woods showed he still has claws as he tore through the field on the final round at the Masters on April 14 to win his first major in 11 years. The 43-year-old Woods started the final day clad in his famous Sunday red and two shots behind Francesco Molinari. Woods held his nerve as he won his 15th major and fifth Masters.
Liverpool did not walk alone as they won Europe’s top club competition for the sixth time. A tepid final in Madrid was effectively settled by a controversial penalty award in the second minute (2-0 in fulltime). The most memorable moment came at home at Anfield in the semi-final on May 1 when the Reds, trailing 3-0 from the first leg deficit, beat mighty Barcelona 4-0. The Kop roared and their team responded.
South Africa outmuscled, out-thought and outplayed England to confound the pundits and win their third Rugby World Cup 32-12 in Yokohama on November 2nd.
Spain beat Argentina 95-75 to win the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Beijing Wukesong Arena, their first title in 13 years.
