By Samuel Opio
The 45th edition of the Uganda Cup guidelines and schedule have been released by FUFA with registration for league and non-league teams at the Regional Football Associations underway until 30th November 2018.
FUFA says the competition will begin with a preliminary round at the regional level for teams from 3rd division and below, however the Regional Associations are authorized to stage the preliminary round fixtures that will be played from 1st to 23rd December 2018.
26 teams from the eight Regional Associations will qualify for the round of 64. Buganda and Kampala have 4 slots for qualification while the rest of the Regional Associations retained 3 slots each.
The StarTimes Uganda Premier League and StarTimes FUFA Big League teams will join the competition at the round of 64. The draws for the 64 teams will be held on 2nd January 2019.
Participation of top flight teams 2nd division teams and 3rd division teams (Regional teams) in the competition is mandatory, FUFA further states.
The Round of 64 ties will be played between 18th and 22nd January 2019 and other schedules for the competitions shall be provided in line with the FUFA Calendar.
According to FUFA, StarTimes Uganda Premier League Clubs will register with UGX 300,000, StarTimes FUFA Big league teams at UGX. 250,000 while the regional league clubs are required to pay UGX. 150,000.
The host region and ground for the final will be communicated.
The winner of the competition represents Uganda in the CAF Confederation Cup. KCCA FC are the defending champions.
The competition started in 1971. KCCA FC and Express FC are the most successful clubs in the Uganda cup winning on 10 occasions each.
FUFA Uganda Cup 2018/2019
Preliminary Round: 1st-23rd December 2018
Round of 64 Draws: 2nd January 2019
Round of 64 kickoff: 18th January 2019
