They did not Buy Treble. They Built It- The Story of Rines SS Success
Rines SS Prove Money Can't Buy Success in Girls' Football
By Kayiira Jackson
Rines Secondary School have emerged as the new talking point in Ugandan and East African girls’ football after completing a historic treble in 2026, proving that patience, grassroots development and investment in people can deliver success without the heavy recruitment spending that has increasingly characterised school football.
Founded by the late Richard Byamukama and Denis Kaliisa, Rines have enjoyed a breakthrough year, winning three major trophies for the first time in the school’s history.
The Wakiso District title was followed by the USSSA Ball Games I girls’ football championship, where Rines defeated Boni Consillii Vocational 3-0.
Their biggest triumph came at the recently concluded FEASSA Games in Morogoro, Tanzania, where Rines edged fellow Ugandan side Amus College School 4-3 on penalties after a goalless final to become East African champions.
Rines’ rise comes at a time when the landscape of girls’ school football has changed significantly.
Since the emergence of St. Noa Girls SS as a major force around 2018, followed by Amus College School’s rise from 2022, competition has increasingly moved beyond developing players internally. Schools have looked outside their traditional talent pools, recruiting established players from other Ugandan schools and neighbouring countries, particularly Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.
Amus College’s rise was partly driven by this approach.
Players such as Sharlyne Opisa, Edinah Wanda, Eunice ‘Bobi’ Nabwoba, Rose Nangila Wanyonyi and Sharlyne Ikalala became part of a formidable Amus side that went on to win the 2023 USSSA championship.
St. Noa, meanwhile, built one of the most successful girls’ football programmes of the era. The Zana-based school won the 2022 USSSA championship, the 2023 FEASSA title, the 2024 FEASSA championship and completed a FEASSA-USSSA double in 2025.
According to sources familiar with the school’s recruitment strategy, St. Noa invested more than Shs60 million in assembling the squad that won the 2022 USSSA and 2023 FEASSA titles. The school is also reported to have spent more than Shs50 million recruiting players from Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi ahead of its 2024 FEASSA success and 2025 double.
Players including Sylvia Kabene, Imelda Kasemire, Patricia Nayiga and goalkeeper Lillian Nakirya became prominent figures in the St. Noa success story.
The cumulative investment in building St. Noa’s formidable squad since 2018 is estimated by sources to have exceeded Shs200 million.
But while other schools were increasingly turning to recruitment and scholarships to assemble ready-made squads, Rines took a different route.
Their success story began quietly in 2022, when coaches Nyanzi Bright Tadeo and Mukiibi Isma embarked on a long-term project centred on developing young players rather than buying established talent.
The first signs that the project could produce something special came in 2024, when Rines reached the USSSA Ball Games I final, only to lose to Kawempe Muslim SS on penalties.
Their FEASSA campaign that same year ended in the group stage, while in the 2025 USSSA nationals they were eliminated by Standard High School in the round of 16.
Those setbacks, however, did not convince the school to abandon its project.
Instead, Rines continued nurturing the young players.
A significant part of the squad had been developed through Dream Girls Academy, a project established by coach Mukiibi Isma in 2020.
The academy produced players including Mupyanga Halima, Nakiseka Edith, Trinah Nakawuki, Namukabirye Shamirah, Nakimuli Sarah, Ainembabazi Angel, Nabadda Desire, Fausita Joyce Namukwaya, Mirembe Justine, Nandhego Zuena, Ramulah Nayiga and Kauthara Olayo.
The project received further validation in 2025 when Rines’ U16 side won the USSSA Ball Games II U16 title in Tororo, beating Kawempe Muslim SS on penalties.
That victory demonstrated that the young players were ready for the next step.
For the 2026 campaign, Rines blended that youthful core with senior players who had featured in the 2024 final, including Ayerango Justine, Yuko Nansamba Bridget, Nakato Nanyanzi Patricia, Jovia Nakirya, Monica Bulya, Dorcus Nantaba and Mutuwa Eseza.
The combination finally delivered the breakthrough.
According to coach Mukiibi Isma, who joined Rines in 2022 and worked alongside his senior, Nyanzi Tadeo, the school did not buy players to build the championship-winning project.
Instead, the players were given scholarships and time to develop.
That philosophy has now produced what money alone could not guarantee: a historic treble.
Rines’ story is therefore more than a collection of trophies. It is a reminder that while financial investment can accelerate success, money cannot buy chemistry, patience, loyalty and a properly developed footballer.
At a time when school football is increasingly becoming a marketplace for established talent, Rines have offered an alternative model — identify young players, develop them, keep faith with them through failure and give them the platform to mature.
Four years after the project began, the results are now visible.
Wakiso champions. USSSA Ball Games I champions. FEASSA 2026 champions.
Team Line Up that won Rines the FEASSA trophy
Rines SS XI: Bridget Yuko Nansamba (G.K), Dorcus Edith Nantaba, Jovia Nakirya, Edith Nakiseka, Patricia Nanyanzi Nakato, Shamirah Namukabirye, Trinah Nakawuki, Justine Ayerango, Halima Mupyango, Monica Bulya, Patricia Babirye
Subs: Justine Mirembe, Joyce Namukwaya, Sarah Nakimuli, Hikmat Namatovu, Desire Nabadda, Khauthara Wolayo, Angel Ainembabazi, Eseza Mutuwa, Zuena Nandego
Officials
Coaches: Isma Mukiibi, Tadeo Nyanzi, Farouk Luwagga
Teacher: James Kakwanzi