The StarTimes Uganda Premier League 2022/23 season awards happened at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on Thursday evening.
It was an adventurous ceremony that witnessed good, bad and ugly scenes as narrated in this piece.
It was a few minutes past 7:00 pm when the Season Awards got underway shortly after a dinner meal for the guests and organisers.
Kawowo Sports’ Edwin Kyle Kule narrates the good bad and ugly that he saw and heard at the event that took place at Sheraton Kampala.
The Good
Unlike last season when the awards were held at Kati Kati Restaurant, this time round the event was taken to Sheraton Hotel in a more spacious place.
The videos that highlighted the award nominees were beautifully produced and gave the event more glamour.
The winners were treated in a VIP manner as their accolades and gifts were carried by the event ushers who were smartly dressed in red dresses.
The event hosts Moses Magero and Gystin Angarukiremu were spot on from the first minute to the end. They kept the audience interactive and were elegantly dressed for the night.
The highest number of guests dressed for the occasion hence giving the event the required treatment.
The Bad
Some of the guests once again like last year showed up in fully casual outfits hence missing a point on the “red” carpet event.
The organisers formally informed the league clubs late (on Tuesday to be specific) hence not giving enough time to prepare their players for the event.
It’s reported that the Best Player of the Season, Milton Karisa rushed on a Bus from the border of Uganda and Kenya hence cutting short his holiday in Kenya.
The Ugly
The UPL website switched stat on the day of the awarding ceremony. Before the ceremony, the website read that Allan Okello had eight assists while Karisa had seven hence topping the charts.
Most of the local websites reported that Allan Kayiwa (Top Scorer) and Okello were meant to receive coveted prizes. Instead, only Kayiwa got that.
Okello and Karisa tied with eight assists but the latter had more goals. Karisa had nine while Okello scored six.
After the announcement of Karisa to go pick up his plaque, Okello was seen moving out in disappointment, anguish and pain.
To crown the night, the second-placed team on the log KCCA FC had got any representative walk on to the podium (yes you read it right).
The full list of winners
Player of the Season
•Milton Karisa (Vipers SC)
Midfielder of the Season
•Laban Tibita (Busoga United)
Defender of the Season
•Hillary Mukundane (Vipers SC)
Goalkeeper of the Season
•Simon Tamale (Maroons FC
Coach of the Season
•Alex Isabirye (Vipers SC)
Young player of the Season
•Darius Ojok – (Maroons FC)
Other Categories
•Fair Play team of the Season – Blacks Power
•Coaches Player of Season – Milton Karisa (Vipers)
•Most Assists – Milton Karisa (Vipers)
•Top Scorer – Allan Kayiwa (Express FC)
•Players Player of the Season – Charles Bbaale (SC Villa)
•Platinum Award – Andrew ‘Fimbo’ Mukasa
Team of the Season (Best XI)
•Simon Tamale (Maroons) – Goalkeeper
•Matsiko Grant (Wakiso Giants)
•Denis Kaka (Bright Stars FC)
•Gift Fred (SC Villa)
•Hillary Mukundane (Vipers SC)
•Bukenya Lawrence (Wakiso Giants)
•Gaddafi Wahab (Arua Hill)
•Laban Tibita (Busoga United)
•Milton Karisa (Vipers SC)
•Charles Bbaale (SC Villa)
•Allan Kayiwa (Express FC)