Calvary FC clinched the 2024/2025 FUFA Big League title on Saturday, earning a place in Uganda’s top-tier football league after a gritty 1-0 win over Paidha Black Angels in a rain-interrupted West Nile derby.
The decisive moment came in the 79th minute, when defender Oriokot found the net, securing the club’s promotion to the Uganda Premier League. The final match, played at Midigo Primary School playgrounds, capped a tense end to the season in front of a hometown crowd.
With the win, the Yumbe-based side closed the season with 52 points, edging out Gaddafi FC (50 points), who beat Kataka FC 3-0 away in Mbale, and Buhimba United Saints (49 points), who drew 0-0 with Kiyinda Boys in Kiwenda.
Gaddafi FC and Buhimba United Saints will join Calvary FC in next season’s Premier League.
“This is a moment my boys and I have been yearning for all these years,” said Simon Otim, head coach of Calvary FC. “Keeping in the Big League for four seasons shows resilience.”
Otim, visibly emotional after the final whistle, said the team is ready to meet the demands of top-flight football.
Calvary FC becomes the sixth club from the West Nile region to make it to the top division, following Onduparaka FC, Arua Hill FC, and Paidha Black Angels—promoted in 2017/2018—as well as Ediofe Hills FC and Arua Central FC, who competed in the former Uganda Super League.
Rasul Ariga, FUFA executive committee member and West Nile region delegate, praised the club’s achievement.
“Congratulations to Calvary FC. But this is just the beginning,” Ariga said. “They must study the failures of the teams that went up and came down just as quickly.”
Club officials echoed the sentiment. “We are ambitious,” said Karim Musa, deputy club president. “We want to win trophies like the established teams.”
Founded in 2008 as a youth-led initiative, Calvary FC grew out of a church-run project backed by Calvary Chapel–Midigo. The club gained local attention during a church tournament and officially joined the 5th Division. It climbed steadily—from 4th Division in 2010 to the West Nile Regional League by 2012, and then to the FUFA Big League in 2020.
For four years, the Horizon Stars—named to reflect their vision and persistence—battled to stay afloat. This season, they broke through.
Meanwhile, the landscape of Ugandan football continues to shift. Former Premier League sides Arua Hill, Busoga United, and MYDA have now dropped to the regional league—marking another major reshuffle in the country’s football pyramid.
