Ensonga Cup returns for seventh edition as Kasule calls for unity in Hoima City
The 2026 edition will feature nine football teams representing the nine wards of Hoima West City Division, with matches scheduled for every weekend ahead of the final on December 25, 2026.
By George Niyonzima
The seventh edition of the Ensonga Cup football tournament has been launched in Hoima City, with MP Ismail Kasule urging residents to embrace unity and support community-driven initiatives to accelerate development in Bunyoro.
Kasule, the Hoima West City Division legislator who initiated the tournament in 2019, made the appeal during the launch at Mpaija Playground in Mpaija Cell, Hoima West City Division.
He said sports tournaments provide an opportunity to bring communities together, strengthen relationships and mobilise residents around shared development goals.
“Continue to support your leaders so that they get inspired to lobby for multiple programmes to develop the communities,” Kasule urged residents.
He encouraged communities to participate in activities that promote togetherness, saying collective support would strengthen leaders’ efforts to attract development programmes and opportunities to the area.
The legislator also dismissed concerns over alleged political interference, insisting that the tournament would continue despite the challenges.
“No one will stop the initiative. Ensonga Cup is a community initiative and therefore no one will stop this,” he said.
Nine teams to battle for Shs20 million
The 2026 edition will feature nine football teams representing the nine wards of Hoima West City Division, with matches scheduled for every weekend ahead of the final on December 25, 2026.
The winning team will receive a cash prize of Shs20 million, raising the stakes for participating sides as they compete for the tournament’s top honour.
The opening matches at Mpaija Playground featured Friends of Kasule, who defeated Boda Boda 2-1, while Manchester United Fans and Arsenal Fans played to a goalless draw before Arsenal Fans prevailed in the penalty shootout.
Players received medals, while the winning teams were rewarded with trophies and a cow.
Tournament targets economic empowerment
Beyond football, the Ensonga Cup has developed into a platform for community interaction and small-business promotion, according to its organisers.
During match days, traders and businesspeople from different parts of the region use the gatherings to sell merchandise, reach potential customers and establish business connections.
Asinansi Nyakato Kamanda commended Kasule for sustaining the initiative, saying it had contributed to community unity and economic activity.
She called on residents to continue supporting their leaders in promoting initiatives that respond to community needs.
Hoima East Division Mayor Bosco Muhanuzi also welcomed the tournament, saying such activities could contribute to social and economic transformation by strengthening relationships among residents.
Since its launch in 2019, the Ensonga Cup has sought to combine grassroots football with community development, providing a platform for residents from different wards to interact beyond their usual social and political boundaries.
The seventh edition will test the tournament’s continued ability to attract community participation while offering local traders opportunities to benefit from the crowds drawn by the weekend fixtures.
With nine teams competing for the Shs20 million prize, organisers will be looking to sustain interest throughout the tournament as Hoima West combines football, community engagement and economic activity in the countdown to the Christmas Day final.
