Vipers’ young defender Halid Lwaliwa, Sadolin goalie Mathias Muwanga and KCCA’s Joseph Ochaya have each been nominated twice in the 2015-16 Uganda Premier League Awards launched on Thursday at Mandela National stadium, Namboole Boardroom.
Ochaya, scorer of seven goals for league winners KCCA is in the category for the Most valuable Player of the season as well as in the defender of the season category.
[Joseph Ochaya shields the ball from Vipers’ Nicholas Wadada]
The ex- Asante Kotoko left fullback will battle for the MVP gong with Vipers’ Erisa Ssekisambu and URA’s Robert Sentongo who also finished as the league’s top marksman with 18 goals.
For the defender of the season category, the lanky Ugandan international faces stiff competition from Lwaliwa (Vipers) and experienced JMC Hippos defender Musa Walangalira.
For Lwaliwa, he is also nominated in the category for the upcoming/young player of the previous season.
In this category, he battles Soana’s Musa Esenu, scorer of eight goals in the second half of the league as well as Mathias Muwanga, Sadolin’s Young custodian who is also vying for goalkeeper of the season.
Muwanga, who kept 16 clean sheets in 25 league games faces stiff competition with Ismail Watenga (Vipers) and KCCA’s Benjamin Ochan.
[Sadolin Paints’ Mathias Muwanga]
Speaking at the launch, league CEO Bernard Bainamani confirmed the dates as well as venue for the awarding ceremony.
The awards will be held at Serena Hotel, Kampala on Friday August 12. The MVP will be awarded with a car while other category winners will also have prizes to win.
Meanwhile, the fans will also have an opportunity to decide who their player of the season is through a media sms platform as Bainamani explains.
Fans will have to decide their own season’s best player via a media platform. To choose, a fan will send an sms with a player’s name to 8888.
Besides above categories, others are Midfielder of the season, fan of the season, the Best XI of the campaign and journalists of the season in different sections ranging from online to TV.
There will also be an award for the longest serving player in the league, Life Time Achievers’ award and the Referee of the season to be determined by the FUFA Referees’ Standing Committee.
It’s the first time since the 2011-12 season that League Awards will be held in Uganda.
Robert Ssentongo won the MVP Award then following into the footsteps of Brian Umony who had bagged the gong at the inaugural awards in 2008.
SUMMARY OF NOMINEES
Footballer of the Season (MVP
- Joseph Ochaya (KCCA)
- Erisa Sekisambu (Vipers)
- Robert Ssentongo (URA)
Goalkeeper of the Season
- Mathias Muwanga (Sadolin Paints)
- Benjamin Ochan (KCCA)
- Ismail Watenga (Vipers)
Defender of the Season
- Joseph Ochaya (KCCA)
- Musa Walangalira (JMC Hippos)
- Halid Lwaliwa (Vipers)
Midfielder of the Season
- Muzamiru Mutyaba (KCCA)
- Richard Wandyaka (JMC Hippos)
- Ibrahim Kayiwa (Express)
Top Scorer
- Robert Sentongo (URA) – 18 goals
Coach of the Season
- Mike Ray Mutebi (KCCA)
- Charles Ayiekoh Lukula (Soana)
- Moses Basena (The Saints)
Goalkeeping Coach of the Season
- Steven Kiggundu Billy (Vipers)
- Moses Oloya (The Saints)
- Kenneth Magada (Sadolin Paints)
Young Player of the Season
- Mathias Muwanga (Sadolin Paints)
- Halid Lwaliwa (Vipers)
- Musa Esenu (Soana)
Life Time Achievers Award
Longest Serving player of the League
Fan of the Season
Best Referee
- To be determined by the FUFA Referees Standing Committee
Fans’ Player of the Year
- To be determined by fans through platforms declared by the league organisers – Key Word UPL Space Name of Player and send to 8888 Via SMS
Best Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- To be selected from the one of the 16 UPL Clubs by the Secretariat
Best Sports Journalist
- Television
- Radio
- Photography
- Online
- [To be selected by the Awards Committee]
Champions of the Season
- KCCA (57 points)
