Vipers SC can confirm that long-serving defender and loyal captain, Halid Lwaliwa has departed for North Macedonian side, FK Bregalnica Stip.
Lwaliwa leaves St Mary’s Stadium, Kitende after eight hugely successful seasons with the senior team.
The classy defender, a graduate from St Mary’s Youth football academy, which occasionally brings cream to the club, had the demeanour and flair of former Cranes captain Ibrahim Sekagya, save for the physical stature, but, he was really schooled in the art of football.
Lwaliwa was enrolled in the senior team in 2013 but due to school commitments, he didn’t feature in any match that season, until a year later when he made two appearances during the 2014/15 Uganda Premier League campaign, with his debut against Soana FC in a one-all draw at Buikwe.
Despite being a budding youngster, he had a hard time breaking into the starting team as Musa Malunda and Yusuf Mukisa formed a then formidable defensive partnership.
He was however part of the squad that won the historical 2014/15 league title, with only one loss to KJT Rwenshama.
An injury to Malunda during the 2015/16 season paved way for the young lad, who as expected, seized the opportunity with open hands, as he started featuring regularly with eye-catching performances, and never looked back.
He however suffered a career-threatening injury while playing for the Uganda Cranes in the ‘Na Mutima’ campaign which sidelined him for the entire 2015/16 season, but recovered to play a minimal part as Vipers recaptured the league trophy in the 2017/18 season, as well as finishing second in the Uganda Cup.
The 26 year-old will absolutely be proud of his time as a Venom, having been a key pillar in four of our five Uganda Premier League titles.
Overall, he won the latter in each of 2014/15, 2017/18, 2019/20 and 2021/22 Uganda Premier League campaigns.
He also helped guide us to both of our two Uganda Cup triumphs, in 2016 and most recently in 2021.
Lwaliwa also won the Uganda Super Cup and the Pilsner Super Cup in 2015 and 2019 as a Venom.
Also as a Venom, Lwaliwa earned his maiden senior team call-up and has been able to establish himself as a stronghold.
Most recently, as he guided us to the 2021/22 League success, he was named the season’s best defender and was part of the team of the season.
Lwaliwa leaves with his shoulders skyhigh and he will forever be a Vipers SC great.
Meanwhile, Bregalnica plays in the country’s top-flight and currently fifth on the 12-team table.
He has become just their eighth foreigner and the only African player in the squad.
We wish our former captain all the best for the next chapter in his career and thank him for his contribution to Vipers SC over the past eight seasons.
Copyright 2022 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.
When is Vipers sc releasing a new kit for the next season
Good luck captain