Africa-Press – Uganda. StarTimes Uganda has said they will continue to air live all the fixtures of the 2025/26 Uganda Premier League (UPL), despite ongoing debate about the new league format.
In a statement issued by Vice President Aldrine Nsubuga on Friday, StarTimes vice president Aldrine Nsubuga said they have an ongoing “Title and Broadcast” tripartite sponsorship agreement with FUFA and the UPL but stressed that the deal “is not tied to a specific format.”
He explained that StarTimes “does not administer the league and therefore has nothing to do with its reforms, regulation or management.”
He added that the broadcaster had learnt of the new reforms introduced for the 2025/26 season, including the change in the league format.
According to Nsubuga, FUFA and UPL “have the obligation to manage the change to the extent that it does not cause a negative image to the StarTimes UPL or cause dissent to the fans.”
He emphasised that fans and clubs remain central to StarTimes’ interests because “they are our customers.”
He confirmed that the broadcaster will continue to air live all the fixtures it has selected for the first round of the 2025/26 season, noting that it is StarTimes’ prerogative to choose TV fixtures after the release of the official calendar.
“StarTimes Uganda supports any efforts that FUFA and UPL make to bring calm to the game, restore fans’ confidence and ensure a smooth running of the 2025/26 season,” Nsubuga said.
The statement comes amid growing tension following FUFA’s introduction of a new league format for the 2025/26 season.
The new format will see the competition now be played in three rounds.
In the first round, all 16 teams will play each other once. The second round will see the teams split into two groups of eight, with the top eight and bottom eight playing home and away matches within their groups.
The final round will feature playoff-style fixtures, with the top six from the upper group competing for the title and the bottom six from the lower group fighting to avoid relegation.
FUFA has defended the changes, saying they will make the league “faster, fiercer, and fairer.”
But several clubs, notably the reigning champions, Vipers SC, have rejected the reforms. They argue that the system could destabilise the sporting and financial foundations of Ugandan football.
Clubs have also criticised the resetting of points between rounds, changes to gate revenue sharing, and new registration rules restricting players with less than two years on their contracts.
Some have also raised data privacy concerns over proposed sharing of club information.
Vipers SC has already refused to take part in matches under the new format, prompting FUFA to convene crisis meetings with club officials.
Confusion deepened when tickets were sold for a fixture that Vipers had withdrawn from, leading to fan outrage.
StarTimes’ latest reassurance seeks to distance the broadcaster from the reform dispute.
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