Full name | Express Football Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Red Eagles" "Square Pass" "Mukwano Gwa'bangi" |
Founded | 1957 |
Ground |
Muteesa II Stadium Kampala, Uganda |
Capacity | 20,202 |
Chairman | Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi |
League | Azam Uganda Premier League |
2014–15 | 8th |
Website | www |
Express Football Club, abbreviated as Express, is a Ugandan football club from Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda. The club play their home games at the Muteesa II Wankulukuku Stadium.
Express FC is popularly referred to by the club fans as the Red Eagles and has also been known as the Express Sports Club. The club is the oldest premier football club in Uganda, having been founded in October 1957 by managers of the Uganda Express Newspapers. The main architect of the club's foundation was Jolly Joe Kiwanuka, the owner of the newspaper, who was ably supported by Paul Ssengendo, Hannington Kiwanuka, Dr. Banabas Kiwanuka, Gaster Nsubuga and Bishop Dr. Dunstan Nsubuga.
Express joined the Kampala and District Football League (KDFL) and by 1964 had become a leading force in the competition by winning Division One championship, with the club's leading scorer Ali Kitonsa netting 54 goals in 18 appearances. In 1968–69 the club participated in the inaugural season of the National League First Division, finishing in fourth position.
The Red Eagles won their first Uganda National League championship title in 1974 and repeated the feat the following season in 1975. In the 1977 season Express defeated the Army side Simba FC 2–0 in a crucial league match and were subsequently banned for allegedly being involving in anti-government activities, by the Governor of the Central Province, Col. Abdallah Nasur, who was unhappy about his side's loss. In 1979 the ban was lifted after the regime of Idi Amin had ended and Express returned to the National League for the 1980 season.
The Red Eagles brief interlude from National League football had lasting consequences as it gave rise to the development of its youth side Nakivubo Boys. All officials of Express turned to Nakivubo Boys and engineered their new team to become a footballing force in Uganda. Nakivubo Boys changed its name to Nakivubo Villa and then later changed its name to Sports Club Villa.