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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKawempe Muslim SS\u2019s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FEASSA Games suffered a major blow, with the absence of captain Agnes Nabukenya \u2014 coupled with inconsistent tournament scheduling \u2014 proving decisive in their quarterfinal exit.
\nNabukenya, who captains both Kawempe Muslim SS and Uganda\u2019s U20 women\u2019s 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\u2019 journey and denied them a place at the East African showpiece.<\/p>\n
Widely regarded as a pivotal figure, Nabukenya\u2019s impact spans school, club, and country. She recently scored Uganda\u2019s 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\u2019s World Cup. Her leadership and attacking presence have been central to Kawempe\u2019s dominance in recent editions of the USSSA games, where she finished as top scorer in the previous two tournaments. Kawempe Muslim SS\u2019s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FEASSA Games suffered a major blow, with the absence of captain Agnes Nabukenya \u2014 coupled with inconsistent tournament scheduling \u2014 proving decisive in their quarterfinal exit. Nabukenya, who captains both Kawempe Muslim SS and Uganda\u2019s U20 women\u2019s national team (Queen Cranes), missed the crucial knockout clash …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See.jpg",782,1024,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-229x300.jpg",229,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-768x1006.jpg",618,810,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See.jpg",618,809,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See.jpg",782,1024,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See.jpg",782,1024,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-110x75.jpg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-310x165.jpg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-310x205.jpg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-660x330.jpg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USSSA-Ball-Games-2026-Fixtures-Scheduling-Controversy-Missing-Star-See-782x525.jpg",782,525,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nKawempe 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\u2019 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.
\nHowever, that position was later reversed, with organisers opting to proceed with the quarterfinals without delay \u2014 a decision that forced teams like Kawempe to compete without key players.
\nIn 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.
\nSources close to the national team camp indicate that some players \u2014 particularly from St Noa Girls \u2014 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.
\nThe 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.
\nKawempe 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 \u2014 their captain and talisman \u2014 as a critical factor in their elimination.
\nThe sequence of decisions has raised questions about fairness and consistency in tournament management, with some stakeholders describing the handling of fixtures as \u201cdouble standards\u201d that ultimately altered the competitive balance.
\nAs 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.<\/p>\n\n
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