Original concept The genesis of club football in Uganda was an idea copied from England by Balamaze Lwanga and Polycarp Kakooza. The objective was to improve Uganda's performances in the
Africa Cup of Nations after disappointing results in the finals in
1962 (fourth-place finish) and
1968 (lost all three group stage matches), both held in Ethiopia. The intention was to start a Uganda National League (the forerunner of the Uganda Super League) to create the foundation for a strong national team. At the same time, the identification of players from the grassroots would be made easier and systematic. Because there were no clubs to form a league, institutions and districts were contacted to form teams. The 1968 inaugural top-flight league was composed of Prisons, Army, Coffee, Express, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, and Mbale. There were three institutions and four districts and one club.
SC Villa won the league for the first time in 1982 and over the next 22 years totalled 16 league titles.
KCC FC and
Express won the championship title in the intervening years.
Match-fixing In 2003, football in Uganda hit its lowest ebb as SC Villa put 22 goals past Akol FC when the league title went down to goal difference with Express. This was one of the biggest scandals in Ugandan football and thereafter, there was a complete media shutdown in all matters pertaining to local football. The episode represented one of many that has plagued Ugandan football. ==Clubs==