VIPERS 2019/20 SUPL CHAMPIONS

VIPERS 2019/20 SUPL CHAMPIONS

Vipers Sports Club have officially been declared champions of the 2019/20 StarTimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL), two days after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni extended the lockdown for at least three more weeks – albeit with the return date of sports remaining at large.

This follows today’s press meet and statement by the local soccer governing body – Fufa president Eng. Moses Magogo ending the season amid the unrelenting Covid-19 pandemic which has left social gatherings, primarily sports, in slumber mode.

The Venoms were on 54 points with a comfortable four-point lead over second placed KCCA (50) when the season was suspended with five games on card against Busoga United, Bright Stars FC, Tooro United, Express FC and Police FC as part of health measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus in mid-March.

This is the fourth league triumph in the club’s history and it helps them move level with URA on the all-time rota of Uganda Premier League (UPL) winners behind record champions SC Villa (16), KCCA (13) and Express (6) in that order. Vipers also won the league in 2010 (while still named Bunnamwaya SC), 2015 and 2018 season.

Acceptable quota

With all clubs having played 25 matches making it 83.3 per cent of the league’s played ties, the football authorities invoked Article 18, Section One, Sub-section C & D in the Fufa Competition rules to declare Vipers as champions.

It states; “Where the league format due to circumstances of force majeure fails to be completed within the season, the league winner shall be determined as follows”

c) Where at least one club has played more than 75% of the league games, the following formula shall be used by TOC (Terms of Conditions) to determine the league positions.

d) Total number of points earned from the number of games played multiplied by the total number of games supposed to be played divided by the number of games played.

History repeats itself

Vipers, therefore, become the second club to win the league on a 75% declaration after KCCA in 1991 when the league was ended with three games to go and only four days to the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup which was hosted by Uganda in Kampala.

At the bottom end of the standings, Maroons, Proline and Tooro United have henceforth been relegated to the Fufa Big League while MYDA together with UPDF are promoted to the topflight for next season. The third promoted team will be decided after some playoff matches before next season kicks off.

Any celebrations with fans, and an open bus parade which is the new normal, will have to wait until social distancing is over and when it’s safe to do so.

Congratulations to the top club hierarchy, administrators, sponsors, players, staff, media team, fans and whoever is associated with Vipers for this memorable achievement.

One Team, One Dream!

YEARS OF VIPERS DOMINANCE

2010: Vipers champs (then Bunnamwaya)

2015: Vipers champions

2018: Vipers champions

2020: Vipers champions

Copyright 2020 Vipers Sports Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.viperssc.co.ug as the source.