FUFA Odilo tournament
Final
Rays of Grace 1-0 Oasis Annex
Excitement and emotions did blend at the FUFA technical center, Njeru on Wednesday as the inaugural FUFA Odilo primary schools (U14) tournament finals climaxed.
Buikwe-based Rays of Grace Junior academy emerged champions of the historic first edition after their 1-0 win at Oasis Annex from Arua in the thrilling final.
Skipper Leonard Kasanya scored the only goal late in second half to earn the Buganda region champions a slim victory at the West Nile counterparts.
Kasanya, who was named the tournament MVP completed a move he initiated when he converted Arafat Nkola’s pass from far right.
“We had hope from day one. We trained hard for this tournament and we were very ready for the challenge. I thank my teammates because we worked as a unit all through,” noted Kasanya, who scored four of the five goals Rays of Grace scored in the tournament.
The winger was also one of the three players spotted from the tournament to the national U15 team preparing for this month’s CECAFA championship in Eritrea.
The others came from Oasis Annex primary school. Rays of Grace Junior school has three age categories; U12, 14 and 16, according to school director Robert Kiwanuka Mubiru and the Odilo tournament was the school’s 9th title this year among others including; Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) Buganda region title last Sunday, Kabaka Cup (U16), Nabagereka Cup (U16), Watoto Wasoka (U16), Odilo district and region titles. FUFA President Eng. Moses Magogo, who presided over the climax of the eight-team finals, confirmed that the number of teams at the next finals (second edition) will double.
“We have witnessed good exciting competition and Odilo is the future of our football. We are planning to have more matches in the finals and therefore, we shall have 16 teams next year. We shall also have girls. As FUFA we are proud of the Odilo start and we thank all the stake holders involved,” noted Magogo, who was in company of Justus Mugisha and Darius Mugoye, the FUFA and Second Vice President respectively.
Hajjat Aisha Nalule, Ali Mwebe, Bashir Mutyaba, the FUFA competitions director, Football development manager and youth development manager respectively also graced the final.
The winner went home with a trophy but the two teams at the final will represent the country at this year’s FEASSSA games in Arusha, Tanzania this month with all expenses paid by FUFA.
The federation also met all the expenses during the finals in Njeru on top of extending transport to all the eight teams, five balls and jerseys.
Bright Valley primary school from Gulu (Northern region) beat Busumbu primary school from Manafwa (Eastern region) 2-0 to clinch the third place –thanks to goals from Emmy Mwaka and Solomon Ochero.
GreenValley from Mbarara (West) beat God’s Grace from Serere (North East) 7-0 to finish 7th with tournament top scorer Viella Aryatwijuka (7 goals) grabbing remarkable 6 goals as Bruno Sengabi netted the other.
A total of 42 goals were scored in 12 matches with Green Valley winning the fair play award after getting through without any card. Francis Amongot of Rays of Grace was the best goal keeper after conceiving only 2 goals.
Classification:
1st -Rays of Grace PS (Buikwe/Buganda)
2nd-Oasis Annex PS (Arua/West Nile)
3rd -Bright Valley PS (Gulu/Northern)
4th -Busumbu PS (Manafwa/Eastern)
5th -Tooro Boarding PS (Kabarole/Kitara)
6th -Citizen Parents PS (Makindye/Kampala)
7th -Green Valley PS (Mbarara/Western)
8th -God’s Grace PS (Serere/North Eastern)
Awards:
Most Valuable Player: Kasanya Leonard – Rays of Grace
Best Goalkeeper: Amongot Francis – Rays of Grace
Top Scorer: Aryatwijuka Viera (7 goals) – Green Valley
Fair Play Award: Green Valley
Top Scorer: Aryatwijuka Viera (7 goals) –Green Valley
