In a shocking turnover, Ugandan international and midfielder Abdul Karim Watambala has reached an agreement with boyhood club Vipers SC for a contract extension, turning down a move to East African giants Azam FC, Footy-Africa can exclusively confirm.
The Uganda Cranes midfielder, who made his Vipers debut in the 2019/2020 season, was on the verge of joining Azam after a huge offer, but he chose to stay with the Uganda Premier League champions following a direct meeting with club president, and tycoon, Lawrence Mulindwa.
According to his agent Sultan Adam, at Nextpro Sports, Watambala will be with the club until 2027, as he is set to extend for an additional two years on Friday. He further indicated that the 25-year-old will receive a sign-on fee of โฌ24,000 (about 100 million shillings).
โHe (Watambala) was headed to Azam until we met directly with Vipers president, Lawrence Mulindwa, who offered โฌ24,000 in bonuses. The meeting earlier on Thursday changed everything and Karim will stay at the club for two more seasons, as he keeps maturing into a better player. He absolutely loves the club, because they have trusted from the days he was a teenager,โ Sultan Adams exclusively told Footy-Africa in an interview.
Across the past six seasons, Watambala has earned the mileage of 125 Uganda Premier League appearances, including 28 last season that saw Vipers clinch the StarTimes Uganda Premier League title. Over the time, he has played 16 times in the 2019/20 season, including 21, 17, 18, 25 and 28 in the 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns, respectively.
He has netted 13 times in the process, managing 19 assists across the past six seasons as a Venom. Watambala will certainly be expected to play an important role with the Venoms looking to make a sound mark in the CAF Champions League, SUPL and Uganda Cup. Over the six years at Kitende, Watambala has won four Uganda Premier League titles and three Uganda Cups.
Internationally, the 25-year-old has also attracted several national team summons including those at the U-20 level, U-23 grade and the senior team โ Uganda Cranes. He is part of the squad gearing for the African Nations Championship (CHAN).
