Some careers are measured in trophies, others in seasons—but every once in a while, sport produces a figure whose greatest victory is the generation he inspires. For more than two decades, Ayub Khalifa Kiyingi has walked that long road, carrying Ugandan sport through moments of uncertainty, breakthrough and glory. Now, Real Stars has turned the spotlight back on the man who helped put Uganda’s women’s football on the international map, honouring the Kawempe Muslim Secondary School and Ladies FC head coach with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to Ugandan sport.
For Ayub, the recognition was more than a trophy—it was a salute to a journey that began long before the applause. “It’s really amazing to be appreciated after a period of over 20 years,” he said, reflecting on a career defined by milestones. “I was the first to bring an international trophy to Uganda and again the first to take the girls for CECAFA, and I promise the best.” His words capture the mentality of a coach who has never treated the touchline as merely a place to watch football, but as a launchpad for talent, ambition and history. His influence at Kawempe Muslim has helped nurture a generation of female footballers and strengthen Uganda’s presence on the regional stage.
The celebrations also shone brightly on the players who turned Ayub’s philosophy into results on the pitch. Nabukenya, the Kawempe Muslim Ladies FC midfielder, was instrumental in her side’s triumphant CECAFA campaign in Rwanda, finding the net four times in four matches. Her defining moment arrived when the stakes were at their highest: she struck the decisive goal in the final as Kawempe Muslim edged Kenya Police Bullets 1–0 after extra time, sealing the regional crown. Her outstanding August campaign earned her the Real Stars award ahead of KCCA FC’s Said Mayanja and NEC FC’s Richard Basangwa. “I am happy that I have won. Among those who played better last month, I was chosen as the best. I am also happy that we won the CECAFA championship,” Nabukenya said.
The Real Stars honours further underlined a month in which Ugandan sport produced champions across disciplines. In women’s basketball, UCU Lady Canons’ Matrina Anyango was crowned the women’s basketball winner after playing a key role in her team’s march to the 2026 Women’s Basketball League title. From the football pitch to the basketball court, the awards celebrated athletes delivering when pressure was at its peak. Yet Ayub’s Lifetime Achievement Award carried a different weight: while the players were being rewarded for a month of excellence, the veteran coach was being recognised for a sporting odyssey spanning more than 20 years.
And so, as the medals are polished and the scoreboards eventually reset, Real Stars has done something that sport too often forgets to do—it has paused the race and remembered the architect. Ayub Khalifa’s story is no longer simply written in match reports, trophies and qualification campaigns; it lives in the players he has developed, the barriers he has broken and the belief he has planted in Ugandan women’s football. The final whistle may end a match, but it cannot silence a legacy. For Ayub Khalifa, this is not the end of the journey—it is another chapter in a story whose greatest goal may still be waiting to be scored.
Photo: Justine Nalubega
