By Musa Kikuuno | Busoga Times
Uganda Cup Final
KCCA FC vs Vipers SC
📅 Saturday, May 31, 2025
🏟️ Kadiba Stadium, Rubaga
As Ugandan football fans prepare for a titanic clash in the 2025 Stanbic Uganda Cup final between KCCA FC and Vipers SC this Saturday at Kadiba Stadium, one club will be watching with bated breath from the sidelines—NEC FC.
While they will not be stepping onto the Kadiba pitch themselves, the outcome of the match could alter the course of their history. If Vipers SC—who have already secured the StarTimes Uganda Premier League title—complete the domestic double by lifting the Uganda Cup, NEC FC will clinch a spot in the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup. For the Bugoloobi-based newcomers, it would mark their first-ever appearance on the continental stage.
NEC FC finished second in the recently concluded Uganda Premier League season, narrowly trailing champions Vipers by just two points. Their consistent form over the campaign earned them admiration across the league, but the CAF ticket remained out of reach—unless fate takes their side this weekend.
A Final Beyond Two Clubs
This year’s Uganda Cup final isn’t just about silverware and bragging rights between two of Uganda’s biggest clubs—KCCA and Vipers. For NEC FC, the stakes are just as high, if not higher. A Vipers victory will activate the league’s clause that hands the Confederation Cup slot to the second-placed team in the league, since Vipers already hold a place in next season’s CAF Champions League.
Rising Stars, Continental Hopes
NEC FC has grown from humble beginnings into a formidable force in the top flight. Their rise has been meteoric, but the club has yet to test its mettle outside Ugandan borders. A Confederation Cup appearance would not only inspire their loyal fan base but also inject new energy into the local football narrative.
Their hopes now rest on Vipers SC, a club in pursuit of their second-ever domestic double—having first achieved the feat in 2022/23. Already crowned league champions under coach Fred Muhumuza and John Ayala Luyinda, the Venoms will be chasing a fourth Uganda Cup title on Saturday. Victory over KCCA would also see them reinforce their status as Uganda’s current football powerhouse.
KCCA’s Last Stand
But standing in their way is a hungry KCCA FC side seeking to end a six-year trophy drought and secure an unprecedented 11th Uganda Cup title. Should the Kasasiro Boys win, they—not NEC FC—will take the Confederation Cup spot. That means for NEC FC, support on Saturday belongs to the same Vipers team that kept them from winning the league.
Ugandan Football, Interwoven Futures
In a sport where victories and heartbreaks often intertwine, NEC FC now finds itself part of one of the most dramatic subplots in Ugandan football. If Vipers do the double, NEC won’t just be runners-up—they’ll be pioneers, flying Uganda’s flag across African borders for the very first time.
From Bugoloobi to Lugogo, and beyond, all eyes will be on Kadiba Stadium this Saturday—not just for the clash of titans, but for the dreams of a rising club hanging in the balance. Important to note, this will be a repeat of the 2018 final in Bukedea which KCCA won 1-0 Curtesy of Julius poloto’s goal.
Uganda Cup Final
