The Startimes Uganda Premier League (SUPL) Secretariat on Monday released the 2022/23 statistical report in which it noted continued improvement of the competition.
While the overall points (53) of eventual champions, Vipers SC, who only beat KCCA on goal difference, were a huge climb down from the 74 the Venoms won with the previous campaign, league organisers still saw growth overall.
“From a broad perspective,” the Secretariat noted in the report, “we can confidently state the league was competitive.
“This can be observed with the title chase that went on between the top three clubs till the last day.”
Vipers and KCCA all went into the final matchday on 50 points and SC Villa on 52, with anyone of the three having a chance to win the league title.
In the end, Villa lost their final game to URA as Vipers and KCCA saw off Busoga United and Soltilo Bright Stars respectively.
The Venoms superior goal difference is what counted when the fat lady finally sang.
“The same (competitiveness) was seen at the bottom of the table standings where the difference between the bottom four was one point apart,” added the Secretariat in their notes.
The season also saw Kyetume FC barred from participating in the league due to failure to adhere to the FUFA Club Licensing requirements; a prerequisite to play in the 2022/23 season.
That affected the equilibrium of the numbers and matches in the league. Usually, the adequate number of matches played by a professional player/club is 40 matches.
With a total of 15 clubs in the 2022/23 season, each club played a total of 28 matches with an addition of about three matches in the Stanbic Uganda Cup. That is still below the target of 40 matches.
Elsewhere, the introduction of the FIFA CMS improved timely delivery of match reports, which were submitted online, according to league authorities.
“The creation of General Coordinators at all league matches also helped to resolve the issue of timely match kick-offs.
“There has (also) been tremendous growth in the number of match attendance. Moving forward; clubs are encouraged to have records of their fans for the league to conform with the Fan Club Membership and perceptions of team brand equity in football.”
The report also highlighted the increase of matches broadcast on television.
“The creation of FUFA TV saw a big improvement in the number of televised games from 111 to 135 in the 2022/23 season,” reads the report.
“The focus is to grow the number of televised matches in the 2023/24 season to at least 170.”
Night football also returned, with St. Mary’s Stadium Kitende and the MTN Omondi Stadiums hosting some matches as they are now classified in the A category that meets the licensing standards.
Here is the link to the full detailed statistical SUPL report for the 2022/23 season
https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:04c1912c-b9fe-462f-8c32-10f9919217ad