FUFA Odilo tournament
Wednesday, 4pm
Rays of Grace vs Oasis Annex, Njeru
Fee: Free entry
Rays of Grace Junior school from Buikwe district faces Oasis Annex primary school from this Wednesday in the final of the FUFA Odilo primary schools inaugural tournament at the FUFA technical center, Njeru.
Rays of Grace qualified to the finals as Buganda region champions while Oasis Annex was the West Nile region champion.
The much anticipated final of the newest Fufa competition will feature a clash between the two most impressive sides at the 8-team finals.
Rays of Grace will be trying to get hands on a fourth trophy in four days after retaining the Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) Buganda region title in Luwero on Sunday.
The side had earlier won the 2019 Kabaka Cup (U16) and the 2019 Watoto Wasoka primary schools (U14) league.
The Odilo tournament has been a success for Rays of Grace, who overcame Bright valley primary school 2-1 in the semi final on Monday courtesy of Leonard Kasanya brace whilst Christopher Oyella scored Bright Valley’s consolation.
What is standing between the emerging football power house and the historic inaugural trophy is equally impressive Oasis who beat Busumbu primary school 5-1 in the other semi final.
Yahaya Toure, Sharif Twaha (x2), Moses Fideli and Ajesto Bushira scored the goals while Hussein Wabese scored the consolation for the Eastern side.
Speaking ahead of the final, Rays of Grace director Robert Kiwanuka Mubiru said that the Odilo tournament was a success for the school regardless of Tuesday’s result.
“This is a wonderful initiative by FUFA because it has given chance to young kids in primary schools to showcase their talents and also a good platform for exposure. Many youth competitions catered for secondary schools which left a gap. I am happy that FUFA is trying to bridge it,” noted Kiwanuka, who is confident that his side will get into FUFA books as the maiden winners of the competition.
Meanwhile, the third playoff will see Eastern region champions Busumbu from Manafwa take on Northern region champions Bright Valley from Gulu prior to the final.
There will also be preceding classification matches for positions 5 and 6 as Kampala region champions Citizen Parents from Makindye take on Kitara champions Tooro boarding primary school from Kabalore.
North Eastern region champions God’s Grace from Serere and Western region champions Green Valley primary school from Mbarara will also battle to decide the 7th and 8th position in the first fixture of the day.
The winner of the Odilo takes a trophy home but the two teams in the final will represent the country in this month’s Federation of East African secondary schools sports associations (FEASSSA) games in Arusha, Tanzania with all expenses catered for by the federation.
FEASSSA introduced this primary schools category last year after securing affiliation to international body. FUFA extended transport, accommodation and welfare to the teams at the Odilo finals as well as a set of jersey and five balls to each team.
