Juliana Junior School Crowned Champions of St Julian Schools Football Tournament
Juliana Junior School Gayaza were crowned champions of the 2026 Term Two Inter-Class and Campus Football Tournament after defeating St Julian High School S3 class 2-1 in a thrilling final at the St Julian Schools Gayaza main playground on Monday.
The Juniors secured victory through goals from Moses Muwanguzi and Mulindwa Godfrey, while St Julian High School S3 pulled one back through O’ Level Campus president Brandon Lee Ekayu.
The tournament brought together teams from across the St Julian Schools campuses as part of an initiative to promote talent development alongside academics.
The final was witnessed by the heads of the participating campuses, including Juliana Junior School head teacher Comfort Akampangana and O’ Level Campus head teacher Abbey Mudusu.
While awarding the winners, Mudusu hailed the tournament as an important break from the demanding academic term and emphasised the need to nurture students’ talents.
“The whole of this term we have been busy with academics throughout, from Junior School and High School. Besides academics, we need to develop talents for these young ones, and we thought it wise to have this tournament which is cross-campuses. Congratulations to the Juniors for putting up a fight,” Mudusu said.
Akampangana also congratulated the players for their resilience and determination throughout the competition.
“I wish to congratulate the boys for winning not only the tournament but even the hearts of the learners within this big institution. This is a clear warning to other schools that we are going to face in any tournament that we are coming for you,” she said.
As part of their reward, the champions received a he-goat for their outstanding performance.
Academy project
The Juliana Junior School team is part of the emerging St Julian Sports Academy, a project fully sponsored by St Julian Schools with the aim of developing young sporting talent.
Team manager Mbuga Swaibu said the victory was a result of consistent training rather than a surprise.
“These boys have been training hard and when the tournament came, it was a chance to showcase what they have been doing in training,” Swaibu said.
He added that the sports academy project is still in its early stages but has ambitions of growing beyond the school.
“This project is at its initial stages, but when the time comes, we will take it to the public because we want this great institution to be the hub for talent in East Africa,” he added.
Eight teams competed
The Term Two tournament featured eight teams, with Juliana Junior School, S1, S2 and S3 each entering two teams.
Juliana Junior School reached the final after eliminating S2 1-0 in the semi-final, with Nkuubi Lawrence Gaddimba scoring the decisive goal.
The other semi-final was an all-S3 affair, with Brandon Lee Ekayu scoring the only goal to secure his side’s place in the final.
The tournament forms part of St Julian Schools’ broader efforts to give students opportunities to develop sporting talent alongside their academic pursuits.