Express Football Club (abbreviated as Express) is a Ugandan professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club from

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

. The club previously played their home games at the Muteesa II Wankulukuku Stadium,but recently shifted to the newly renovated Hamz Stadium,Nakivubo.

History

Express FC is popularly referred to by the club fans as the Red Eagles and has also been known as the Express Sports Club. The club is one of the oldest football clubs in Uganda, having been founded in October 1957 by managers of the Uganda Express Newspapers. The main architect of the club's foundation was Jolly Joe Kiwanuka, the owner of the newspaper, who was ably supported by Paul Ssengendo, Hannington Kiwanuka, Dr. Banabas Kiwanuka, Gaster Nsubuga and Bishop Dr. Dunstan Nsubuga. The Red Eagles were among the first Ugandan clubs to use football boots and since the club was revived in 1979 they have ever been relegated from the top-tier league. They are the only Super League side that has never featured in the promotional mini leagues. Hassan Mubiru finished the club and league's top scorer for three consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2003. In total Express FC has won six league championships and ten Uganda Cup titles with the 'double' (league & cup winners) being achieved in 1995.

League history

Express joined the Kampala and District Football League (KDFL) and by 1964 had become a leading force in the competition by winning Division One championship, with the club's leading scorer Ali Kitonsa netting 54 goals in 18 appearances. In 1968–69 the club participated in the inaugural season of the National League First Division, finishing in fourth position.

The Red Eagles won their first Uganda National League championship title in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and repeated the feat the following season in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. In the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

season Express defeated the Army side

Simba FC UPDF Simba FC is a Ugandan football club based in Lugazi. They are the country's Army club. They were a dominant force in the 1970s and 1980s when all the players were serving officers in the Army. Simba FC has played in many leagues since 1 ...

2–0 in a crucial league match and were subsequently banned for allegedly being involving in anti-government activities, by the Governor of the Central Province, Col. Abdallah Nasur, who was unhappy about his side's loss. In 1979 the ban was lifted after the regime of

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

had ended and Express returned to the National League for the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

season. The Red Eagles brief interlude from National League football had lasting consequences as it gave rise to the development of its youth side Nakivubo Boys. All officials of Express turned to Nakivubo Boys and engineered their new team to become a footballing force in Uganda. Nakivubo Boys changed its name to Nakivubo Villa and then later changed its name to Sports Club Villa. It was not until the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

season that Express won the Super League championship and there followed the most successful period in the club's history with further league titles in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. Then a match fixing scandal involving Express' arch rival Villa interrupted this successful period. The scandal climaxed in 2002–03 season. and at the end of this season seriously tainting Ugandan football with Villa scoring 22 goals past Akol FC and then going on to take league title on goal difference from Express.

Over the last ten years the club's league performance has diminished although in 2011–12 the Red Eagles secured the Super League championship title once more by finishing one point above

Bunamwaya SC ''Vipers SC'' is a Ugandan professional association football club based in Kitende. Wakiso District. It competes in the Uganda Premier League, the top flight of Ugandan football. The club was founded in 1969 as Bunamwaya FC. They are nicknamed " ...

. The following season in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

the club finished in 11th place, their lowest top tier position. In 2018 a fundraising campaign was held in order to help save the team from relegation. Express barely survived relegation in the 2017–18 season, ensuring their spot only after defeating bottom club Masavu 1–0 in the final game of the season. Their 13th-place finish became their lowest finish in the top flight.

Cups

In contrast to their league performances, Express have been the most successful club in the

Ugandan Cup The Uganda Cup is Uganda's main national cup competition in Football (soccer), football. This annual competition is open for member clubs of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. The Uganda Cup is the second most prestigious competitio ...

winning the competition on 10 occasions in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 2002–03,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and 2006–07. They have also made numerous appearances in African cup competitions, including one appearance in the

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

, six appearances in the

African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) a ...

, two appearances in the

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

, two appearances in the

CAF Cup The CAF Cup was an annual competition organised by the CAF for domestic leagues runners-up of member associations who have not qualified to one of the two pre-existing CAF international club competitions the African Cup of Champions Clubs or t ...

and five appearances in the

CAF Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

. In

the Red Eagles reached the semi-finals of the African Cup of Champions Clubs before going out 2–1 on aggregate to South African club,

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Betway Premiership. The team plays i ...

, the eventual champions. In addition the club has twice finished runners-up in the

CECAFA Clubs Cup The CECAFA Club Cup is a Association football, football club tournament organised by CECAFA. It has been known as the Kagame Interclub Cup since 2002, when Rwandan President Paul Kagame began sponsoring the competition. It is contested by clubs fro ...

, the regional club competition covering East and Central Africa, in 1994 and 1995. Another success was winning the East African Hedex Super Cup in 2001–02.

Record in the top tier

African cups history

Achievements

Ugandan Premier League The Ugandan Premier League, also known as the StarTimes Uganda Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. The league was previously known as the Uganda Super League but changed i ...

: 7 ::

, 2011–12, 2020-2021 *

: 10 ::

, 2002–03,

, 2006–07. * East African Hedex Super Cup: 1 :: 2001–02.

Performance in CAF competitions

: 1 appearance ::

– First round *

: 6 appearances ::

– Second round ::

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

– Second round ::

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

– Second round ::

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

– First round ::

– disqualified in first round ::

– Semi-finals ::

– Preliminary Round *

: 2 appearances ::

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

– First round ::

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

– First round *

: 2 appearances ::

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

– Second round ::

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

– First round *

African Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and w ...

: 5 appearances ::

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

– First round ::

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

– Second round ::

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

– First round

Managerial history

Since the formation of the club a total of 44 men have been appointed as head coach of Express. The coaches that have served Express are detailed below: * Jolly 'Joe' Kiwanuka ''(1959–73)'' * Robert Kiberu ''(1974–77)'' *

Ashe Mukasa Ashe Mukasa (born April 1952) is a former Ugandan football midfielder who played for Uganda in the 1978 African Cup of Nations. Career Born in the Lungujja neighborhood of Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city o ...

''(1979)'' * John Dibya ''(1980)'' * Emmanuel Nsubuga ''(1980–82)'' * Henry Buyego ''(1983)'' * George Mukasa ''(1984–85)'' * Charles Masembe ''(1985–86)'' * Dan Lutalo ''(1986)'' * George Mukasa ''(1986)'' * Robert Kiberu ''(1987–90)'' * Billy Kizito ''(1990)'' *

David Otti David Otti (born 1940 - died 3 March 2011) was one of Uganda's most respected coaches and one of the most decorated persons in Ugandan football. Career Otti was born in Gulu, northern Uganda and he died at the age of 71 on 3 March 2011 at Case Me ...

''(1990–95)'' * Jimmy Muguwa ''(1995–96)'' * Dragan Popadić ''(1996–97)'' * Jimmy Muguwa ''(1997–98)'' * Abo Korouma ''(1998–99)'' * Godfrey Nyola ''(1999)'' * Rashid Shedu ''(1999–00)'' * Godfrey Nyola ''(2000)'' *

Eddie May Edwin Charles May (19 May 1943 – 14 April 2012) was an English football player and manager. May was born in Epping, and played for Dagenham, Southend United, Wrexham and Swansea City. The burly, affable May loomed large in the modern hist ...

''(2000–01)'' * Asumani Lubowa ''(2001)'' * Godfrey Nyola ''(2001)'' * Jimmy Muguwa ''(2002)'' * Abdul Kadir ''(2002)'' * Leo Adraa ''(2002–03)'' * Jan Fray ''(2003)'' * James S'ianga ''(2004)'' * Leo Adraa ''(2004–05)'' * Godfrey Nyola ''(2005)'' * Polly Ouma ''(2005)'' * George Ssimwogerere ''(2006)'' * Kefa Kisala ''(2006)'' * George Ssimwogerere ''(2006)'' * Kefa Kisala ''(2006–07)'' * Ibrahim Buwembo ''(2007)'' * Kennedy Lubogo ''(2007)'' * Sam Ssimbwa ''(2007)'' * Polly Ouma ''(2007)'' * Jimmy Muguwa ''(2007–08)'' *

''(2008–11)'' * Sam Ssimbwa ''(2010–12)'' * Moses Basena ''(2012–13)'' * Frank Anyau ''(2013)'' * Sam Ssimbwa ''(2013)'' * Wassawa Bossa ''(2014 – 14th February 2022)'' * James Odoch ''(August 2022)''

References

External links

Uganda – List of Champions – RSSSF (Hans Schöggl)

* ttp://www.league321.com/uganda-football.html Ugandan Football League Tables – League321.com
Express Football Club Website (Internet Archive)
{{Ugandan Premier League Football clubs in Uganda Association football clubs established in 1957 Football clubs in Kampala 1957 establishments in Uganda

History

League history

Cups

Record in the top tier

African cups history

Achievements

Performance in CAF competitions

Managerial history

See also

References

External links