By Dennis Weche 
The 2025 East Africa Secondary School Games have entered a decisive phase, with Kenya and Uganda once again dictating the tempo of the region’s premier schools’ football competition. After a week of drama-filled group stage duels in Kakamega, the focus now shifts to the semi-finals, where regional pride, school legacy, and youthful ambition converge.
On Tuesday, the girls’ matches provided a cocktail of thrills and heartbreak. Kenya’s Butere Girls, crowd favourites and former national champions, were handed a shock exit after a 2–1 loss to Uganda’s Boniconcili. The result stunned their passionate supporters, many of whom had travelled in expectation of another Butere charge towards the final. But football at this stage can be merciless.
Uganda’s Amus College ensured the Pearl of Africa stayed firmly in the mix, edging Kenya’s Kobala 1–0 in a tense encounter that secured their passage into the last four. On their part, Archbishop Njenga Girls of Kenya lifted spirits in a pulsating 2–1 victory over Tanzania’s Fountain Gate, a performance cheered on wildly by the home crowd. Madira Girls also delivered one of their finest showings of the campaign, dismantling Rwanda’s Huye 3–0 with a display that blended flair and defensive steel.
Uganda’s dominance in girls’ football was once again underlined as Kawempe, a team long regarded as a talent factory, brushed aside Tanzania’s Alliance 2–0. St. Noa Girls, already Pool A favourites, sealed their authority with a commanding 1–0 triumph over Kenya’s Nasokol.
By the close of play, the semi-final line-up was confirmed: Uganda flooding the stage with St. Noa, Kawempe, and Amus College, while Kenya’s Archbishop Njenga Girls stood tall as the country’s lone representative. Thursday, August 21st, is now set for fireworks—St. Noa against Amus in a Ugandan derby, and Kawempe against Archbishop Njenga in what is already billed as the “East African El Clasico” of schoolgirls’ football.
The boys’ division has been no less enthralling. Butere Boys of Kenya, powered by deafening support from their loyal fans, topped Group A with 11 points from five matches, sending a clear message of their title ambitions. Uganda’s Buddo Senior Secondary and Kenya’s Musingu High joined the party with gritty, disciplined performances.
Group B, meanwhile, produced one of the tournament’s surprise stories in Kenya’s Agai Mixed Secondary, who marched through unbeaten with 13 points. St. Joseph’s Boys Kitale showed their pedigree with consistent play, while Uganda’s St. Mary’s Kitende—arguably East Africa’s most decorated school side—proved once again why they remain a permanent fixture in knockout football.
For Tanzania and Rwanda, it has been a sobering campaign, most of their teams bowing out in the group stages. Yet, their presence is vital, adding texture and diversity to a competition that has become a melting pot of East African football culture.
As the knockout rounds loom, Kakamega is buzzing with energy. School flags ripple in the wind, drums thunder across the stadiums, and chants echo from stands packed with students, teachers, alumni, and football enthusiasts. For many of these teenagers, this is more than just a tournament—it is their launchpad to history, their first audition for scouts, and a gateway to professional dreams.
Thursday’s semi-finals will not only determine who walks into the final but also script another chapter in the enduring Kenya–Uganda rivalry. For now, the eyes of the region remain firmly on Kakamega, where legends are being written, futures are being shaped, and the quest for East Africa’s most coveted schools’ football crown intensifies.
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