By Emmanuel Sekago
The FUFA Competitions Disciplinary Panel (CDP) has officially ruled on the abandoned North East Regional League Final between Tapo FC and Junior Eagles FC, held on June 8, 2025, at Soroti Secondary School playground.
Following a detailed review, the CDP confirmed that the player licenses presented by Tapo FC were authentic and fully compliant with the FUFA Competitions Rules 2024. Pursuant to Articles 29(1), 29(3), and 31(6), (7), (8), the panel awarded the match to Tapo FC with a result of 2-0. Additionally, Junior Eagles FC received a formal caution for breaching FUFA competition regulations.
The match, intended to decide the North East Region’s representative in the FUFA Big League playoff, failed to kick off amid escalating tensions and conflicting allegations. Junior Eagles accused Tapo FC of fielding ineligible players with forged licenses, while Tapo FC maintained that Junior Eagles simply refused to play.
With the CDP’s decision, Tapo FC advances to face Iganga United Eastern Region League champions in a two-legged promotion playoff for a slot in the 2025-2026 FUFA Big League. The first leg will be held on Sunday, June 15, 2025, at Ngora High School, and the return leg at Iganga Ssaza Ground.
Iganga United reached this stage after a narrow 1-0 win over Amus College FC, though that match was marred by crowd trouble and alleged hooliganism. FUFA has yet to publicly address the conduct of Iganga United fans during that game.
Meanwhile, Soroti Thunders FC has submitted a formal petition to FUFA, citing deep-rooted irregularities across the 2024/25 North East Regional League season. In a letter dated June 5 and signed by Club President Otati Samuel Peace, seen by wallnetnews digital, the club outlined a range of issues that they say threaten the integrity of the competition.
Among the grievances raised are Discrepancies in league standings and match results, Unexplained postponements without rescheduling, Poor match reporting protocols and lack of data transparency, Awarding of matches without merit, Lack of communication from the regional leadership and Premature playoff announcements while the league was incomplete.
Despite several attempts to engage the regional football leadership via phone and physical visits, Soroti Thunders FC claims there has been no response, with offices often closed and calls unanswered.
The club now urges FUFA to step in and conduct a full investigation, enforce accountability, and restore credibility to the league structure.
As both the CDP ruling and the petition from Soroti Thunders highlight mounting pressure within the North East football ecosystem, FUFA faces increasing calls to act swiftly and decisively in the interest of fair play and transparency.
