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Kawempe Muslim SS’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FEASSA Games suffered a major blow, with the absence of captain Agnes Nabukenya — coupled with inconsistent tournament scheduling — proving decisive in their quarterfinal exit.
Nabukenya, who captains both Kawempe Muslim SS and Uganda’s U20 women’s national team (Queen Cranes), missed the crucial knockout clash due to national team duty. Her absence was keenly felt as Kawempe fell to Rines SS in a tense penalty shootout, a result that ended the record champions’ journey and denied them a place at the East African showpiece.
Widely regarded as a pivotal figure, Nabukenya’s impact spans school, club, and country. She recently scored Uganda’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat to Ghana in Accra on Sunday, as the team continues its pursuit of qualification for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. Her leadership and attacking presence have been central to Kawempe’s dominance in recent editions of the USSSA games, where she finished as top scorer in the previous two tournaments.
Kawempe were not alone in being affected by national team call-ups. Defending champions St Noa Girls SS also had three players away with the national side, that; Goalkeeper Lillian Nakirya, Martha Babirye and Patricia Nayiga. In anticipation of this, tournament organisers had initially communicated that the girls’ football competition would pause at the quarterfinal stage to allow teams to recover their players. The plan was for the knockout rounds to resume on May 11 and 12.
However, that position was later reversed, with organisers opting to proceed with the quarterfinals without delay — a decision that forced teams like Kawempe to compete without key players.
In another twist, shortly after the quarterfinals were completed on Tuesday, a fresh communication was issued postponing the semifinals until next week, effectively reverting to the earlier plan of halting the competition.
Sources close to the national team camp indicate that some players — particularly from St Noa Girls — have struggled to balance national duty with school commitments, with concerns raised about their mental readiness ahead of the decisive return leg against Ghana scheduled for May 9 at Kadiba Stadium.
The late decision to postpone the semifinals is understood to have been influenced by a desire to ease pressure on the players and allow them to focus on national duty. However, the move has sparked criticism from the Kawempe Muslim SS camp, who argue that the inconsistency unfairly disadvantaged them.
Kawempe officials maintain that had the initial schedule been upheld, allowing the return of national team players before the quarterfinals, the outcome could have been different. They point to the absence of Nabukenya — their captain and talisman — as a critical factor in their elimination.
The sequence of decisions has raised questions about fairness and consistency in tournament management, with some stakeholders describing the handling of fixtures as “double standards” that ultimately altered the competitive balance.
As the tournament heads into the semifinals, the controversy surrounding scheduling and player availability continues to cast a shadow, particularly for Kawempe Muslim SS, who are left to reflect on what might have been.
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