Wakiso Giants have been relegated from the Uganda Premier League after a humiliating 5-0 defeat at the hands of KCCA FC on Friday at the MTN Phillip Omondi Stadium, Lugogo.
The result capped off a disastrous season for the Purple Sharks, who came into the game desperately needing a win and favourable results elsewhere—particularly in the Mbarara City fixture—to survive the drop.
Mbarara City did lose but the Wakiso’s survival chances collapsed under the sheer weight of their own collapse in Lugogo.
There was no fightback, no moment of magic. Only an emphatic reminder of how far Wakiso Giants had fallen since their boisterous entrance into top-flight football.
Promoted to the Uganda Premier League in 2019, Wakiso Giants had burst onto the scene with flair and flamboyance, branding themselves as the “moneybags” of the league.
Though they never lifted silverware, their off-pitch confidence often made more headlines than their football.
In their heyday, the club turned heads when they unveiled a sleek, modern team bus—branded in their trademark purple—drawing admiration and mockery in equal measure.
The display of apparent opulence led to trolling of older clubs like SC Villa and Express, who had no such luxuries to flaunt.
Wakiso’s flashy bus became symbolic of a new wave of footballing ambition that prioritised image and projection.
But as with fellow flamboyant clubs Onduparaka and Arua Hill—both of whom also paraded buses before eventually crashing out of the top division—the showbiz has not saved the football.
Friday’s result not only confirmed their relegation but also starkly contrasted the club’s early aspirations of being a dominant force in Ugandan football.
Instead, they now return to the Fufa Big League—a second-tier division many believed they had permanently left behind.
For KCCA, the win was clinical and emphatic, but for Wakiso Giants, it marked the end of an era that promised plenty, glowed briefly, and then dimmed without warning.
Tense Title Race
At the summit of the table, BUL intensified the championship race by defeating league leaders Vipers 1-0 in Jinja.
This result delays Vipers' title celebrations, keeping the competition alive into the penultimate round of the 16-team league.
Nec capitalised on Vipers' stumble, thrashing already relegated Bright Stars 5-1 to remain within four points of the top spot. With two matches remaining, Vipers lead with 65 points from 28 games, while Nec trails closely with 61 points from the same number of fixtures.
In other relegation news, Mbale Heroes' dismal season persisted as they suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to UPDF.
The loss further cements their position at the bottom of the table, highlighting a season to forget for the embattled club.