Park FC dominated the top honours at the betPawa and Futsal Awards ceremony held on Saturday, June 8th at the Old Kampala Sports Arena.
Three of the seven awards went to Park FC players, including the team that clinched the season’s trophy. Brian Drileba was named the Best Goalkeeper (Golden Glove Award), Gibran Ndukuhire was crowned the Best Defender, and Michael Abura took home the coveted Most Valuable Player award.
Lubaga Grameen’s Michael Lubowa stole the show, winning two awards – Best Striker and Playmaker. Lubowa also set a league record, scoring an impressive 50 goals over the course of the futsal season.
Other award winners included Edgar FC’s Brian Olwa, who was named the Youngest Player of the Season, and Kisenyi FC’s manager Sulaiman Sekanyo, who was named Coach of the Season.
“This season of futsal has been extremely exciting, and with the work that all teams put in to make the game more entertaining and professional, it was only befitting that we recognize their efforts,” said betPawa Country Marketing Manager Ivy Igunduura.
The 2023/24 futsal season saw significant improvements, thanks to betPawa’s sponsorship. The main playing venue, the Old Kampala Sports Arena, underwent renovations, giving it a fresh look. Additionally, the 12 participating teams were provided with new kits and football gear, including a digital clock that helped eliminate disputes during matches.
“We have had a season where, through digitization, disputes were a thing of the past because of the digital clock which was used professionally to keep track of time per match,” said Futsal Association of Uganda President, Hamzah Jjunju.
Another innovative initiative introduced by betPawa was the Locker Room Bonus, where the match-day squad players of the winning team received a bonus for each victory. This amounted to a total of UGX 167.5 Million paid out to the players over the course of the season.
“We also thank betPawa for the Locker Room Bonus initiative, a first of its kind, where match-day squad players of the winning team get a bonus for triumphing in every fixture,” Jjunju added.
Igunduura congratulated all the futsal players, acknowledging their good sportsmanship and the captivating skills they displayed, which kept the Old Kampala Sports Arena crowds enthralled.
Accepting his award for top scorer, Lubowa expressed his gratitude to betPawa for energizing the league and supporting the teams and players.
“Today is a special day for me and all the players representing the teams in our great Futsal league. We are honoured to have been part of this partnership,” he said.
