Uganda Peoples’ Defence Force Football Club (commonly known as UPDF FC) is a Ugandan professional football club based in Bombo, Luweero District. The club currently plays in the Uganda Premier League, the country’s top division.

UPDF FC has played in many leagues since 1980 but as Simba FC.

History

The club traces its roots to the famous Simba FC, the original army team founded in 1968, which won the Uganda Super League twice (1971 and 1978) and reached the 1972 African Cup of Champions Clubs final.

In 2016, the army acquired "The Saints FC", a club playing in the Uganda Premier League, and rebranded it as UPDF FC in 2017 following FUFA approval.

Crest

  • Old logo

Ownership and management

The club is owned and operated by the Uganda People’s Defence Force. Management and funding are overseen by the army, while the day-to-day football operations are handled by a professional technical team. As of 2024, the head coach is Moses Basena, a former coach of the Uganda national football team.

Performance

UPDF FC has been a mid-table team in recent seasons. In the 2020–21 Uganda Premier League, they finished 8th in their comeback season. In 2023–24, the club finished 12th out of 16 teams, narrowly avoiding relegation.

Season-by-season record

SeasonDivisionPositionNotes
2019–20Uganda Premier League15thRelegated
2020–21Uganda Premier League8thReturned after promotion
2021–22Uganda Premier League11th
2022–23Uganda Premier League13th
2023–24Uganda Premier League12th
2024-25Uganda Premier League10th

Honours

Continental

Domestic

Performance in CAF competitions

1972: Finalist 1973: Second Round 1974: First Round 1979: First Round

1978 – First Round 1999 – Second Round

Current squad

Confirmed squad for the 2024–25 season. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK UGA Yusuf Waswa 2 GK UGA Anyama Joseph 3 GK UGA Sulaiman Kibalama 4 DF UGA Derrick Jim Ssekulima 5 DF UGA Denis Ssekitoleko 6 DF UGA Musa Mulindwa 7 DF UGA Bashir Kabuye 8 DF UGA Aggrey Kiirya 9 DF UGA Christopher Kamagu 10 DF UGA Oscar Agaba 11 DF UGA Ezekiel Katende 12 DF UGA Abbas Luuty Nsubuga 13 DF UGA Henry Tenywa 14 MF UGA Edward Kawooya 15 MF UGA Ronald Kayondo 16 MF UGA Christopher Tebandeke 17 MF UGA Rashid Faridi 18 MF UGA Hussein Zzinda 19 MF UGA Shakibu Mayanja 20 MF UGA Enrique Lubwama 21 MF UGA Asaph Ssegujja 22 MF UGA Swaibu Kasujja Kalule 23 FW UGA Brian Kalumba 24 FW UGA Frank Mugisa 25 FW UGA Joseph Janjali 26 FW UGA Samson Kigozi 27 FW UGA Samuel Ssekamatte 28 FW UGA Emmanuel Ochen 29 FW UGA Daniel Kitara 30 FW UGA Sulaiman Kibalama
1GKUGAYusuf Waswa
2GKUGAAnyama Joseph
3GKUGASulaiman Kibalama
4DFUGADerrick Jim Ssekulima
5DFUGADenis Ssekitoleko
6DFUGAMusa Mulindwa
7DFUGABashir Kabuye
8DFUGAAggrey Kiirya
9DFUGAChristopher Kamagu
10DFUGAOscar Agaba
11DFUGAEzekiel Katende
12DFUGAAbbas Luuty Nsubuga
13DFUGAHenry Tenywa
14MFUGAEdward Kawooya
15MFUGARonald Kayondo
16MFUGAChristopher Tebandeke
17MFUGARashid Faridi
18MFUGAHussein Zzinda
19MFUGAShakibu Mayanja
20MFUGAEnrique Lubwama
21MFUGAAsaph Ssegujja
22MFUGASwaibu Kasujja Kalule
23FWUGABrian Kalumba
24FWUGAFrank Mugisa
25FWUGAJoseph Janjali
26FWUGASamson Kigozi
27FWUGASamuel Ssekamatte
28FWUGAEmmanuel Ochen
29FWUGADaniel Kitara
30FWUGASulaiman Kibalama

See also

External links

  • – The Biggest Football Archive of the World (archived 28 February 2014)