Here is the third chapter of the series of Uganda clubs and origins of their nicknames.
You can check Part One and Part Two As Well.
SC Villa – Jogoo
SC Villa were formed in 1975 and have are the record league winners with 16 titles, although their recent triumph was in 2004.
In the beginning, they played under the name Nakivubo Boys after a breakaway from Express FC.
With a new president in 1979, Patrick Kawooya, he wanted to make the club a formidable force. In his first reforms, he renamed the club “Nakivubo Villa” as the name “boys” would be wrongly translated as non mature.
To further make his point, Kawooya then nicknamed the team ‘Jogoo’ which is a Swahili word for ‘Roster’ (a male chicken).
A roster (read Jogoo) can as well be seen on the club’s logo.
Kawooya is said to have come with some rosters painted in Villa’s colours (white and blue) during games to scare away opponents.
Read – Ambrose Kirya Reveals Best Moment In Villa Jersey
Vipers – The Venoms
The club was formed in 1969 as Bunamwaya.
In August 2012, the team was renamed Vipers SC by club director Lawrence Mulindwa in a function that was held in Buikwe.
Mulindwa who was the FUFA President then, commented that the new name will give the team a national outlook as the old was only limited to the people and community of Bunamwaya.
In English, Vipers is a small venomous snake that also has a big head.
Venom (obusagwa) is that poisonous substance injected by a snake.
A venomous snake can as well be seen on the club’s logo.
Read – What Happens When Magogo Joins Politics?
Tooro United – Ntare Za Tooro
To come into existence, businessman Smart Obed bought Misindye FC, a team that used to play in Mukono divisions. They later named themselves Misindye Soana FC before turning into Soana FC.
Soana investments is a car company owned by Smart Obed.
In society, they were nicknamed ‘The Car dealers’ in relation to the businesses of their boss.
They referred to themselves as the Soccer Jaguars, as Misindye had a Jaguar (animal) in its logo.
On September 24th, 2018, the club officially rebranded to Tooro United and moved away from the capital.
The move, as most clubs who have changed names, was to create a new identity to its new area of residence.
To attain a strong attachment, they chose ‘Ntare Za Tooro’ as the new nickname – which means ‘The Lions of Tooro’.
Police FC – The Cops
Police FC won the league in 2005 before adding the CECAFA club championship the following year.
Currently, the club is synonymous with it’s free flowing football style of play under coach Abdallah Mubiru.
The club is nicknamed ‘The Cops’ which means Police officers because it belongs to Uganda Police force.
BUL and Proline FC have no nicknames. BUL FC used to refer to themselves as ‘The Eastern Giants’ something the club owners later refused to acknowledge. A section of BUL fans have bossed with ‘The Money team’ in reference to the deep pockets invested into the club including the high bonuses given to players. The media and some fans on the hand have referred to Proline as ‘The Academy’ because of the their football academy that moulds youngster.
