Winning once can be explained as a fluke but winning twice requires something more. In the case of the University for Development Studies (UDS), the 2–1 victory over Julius Nyerere University in the men’s football final of the 12th All Africa University Games in Cairo was the latest proof of a system that has continued to produce winners even as current players graduate and new ones take their places.

UDS arrived in Cairo as African champions after winning the title in Lagos in 2024. Between those two continental triumphs, the Ghanaian university also reached the summit of world university football, defeating Brazil’s Paulista University 2–1 in extra time to win the 2025 FISU University World Cup Football in Dalian, China. Now, after another 2–1 victory in Cairo, UDS won the African title for a second consecutive edition and became the first institution to win the African university football tournament in successive editions and the first to simultaneously hold the World, African and West African university football titles. However, the route to that second African crown tells the story better than the

A CAMPAIGN THAT GATHERED MOMENTUM

UDS did not begin the defence of their title with the authority expected of reigning champions. They were held 1–1 by the University of Hertfordshire in their opening Group B match, with Ezedeen Alhassan rescuing a point with an 81st-minute equaliser after the Ghanaian side had fallen behind in an encounter that became an early warning that the Lagos champions would not be handed anything on a platter in Cairo.

Their response was emphatic. In the return meeting with Hertfordshire, UDS produced a 4–1 victory to finish top of Group B and advance to the semi-finals. Alhassan struck a hat-trick while Akusaayela Nuhu also found the net.

The semi-final against Egypt’s Delta University was even more convincing. Playing in temperatures that reached 37°C, UDS controlled the contest and ran out 4–0 winners. Nuhu opened the scoring just before half-time, captain Mohammed Asigri doubled the advantage two minutes after the restart, Alhassan Zakaria made it 3–0 and Abdul Majeed Suglo completed the scoring late on. By the time they reached the final, UDS had scored nine goals and conceded only two.

THE EXPECTATION TO WIN

In the final, Julius Nyerere University of Guinea pushed UDS into a much tighter contest. UDS took the lead through Abdul Karim Rafiu but Julius Nyerere equalised in the second half. The final became increasingly physical, with UDS losing players to injuries as the pressure mounted. Eventually, the game went beyond 90 minutes. Five minutes into the second period of extra time, Ezedeen Alhassan delivered the decisive moment, curling a free-kick into the top corner to secure a 2–1 victory and another African championship.

For Ibrahim Abdullah, the goalkeeper and general captain of the contingent who was also part of the Dalian-winning squad, the result began long before that final whistle. “From the first day of campaign, the mentality was a winning mentality that was instilled in us from the vice-chancellor of the university straight to the groundskeeper” he said.

“So before we started our training sessions, we knew the motive that we were going there for. We knew that there was nothing else but to win”.

THE SYSTEM BEHIND THE TEAM

Shaibu Ibrahim Tanko knows that winning teams cannot depend indefinitely on the same group of players. The UDS Director of Sports and professional coach has built the football programme around a structure that allows the university to recruit young players, support their education and develop them over several years. His answer when asked about how UDS had been able to sustain its success was scholarships. “All these players that you saw on the field are on scholarship. They don’t pay fees” Tanko said. According to Mr Tanko, the sports programme at UDS supports about 200 student-athletes through this model while the university also provides occasional stipends and monitors their academic progress.

For him, the scholarship is more than financial assistance. It is part of the process through which UDS identifies and retains talent. “We are able to scout them and then give them the scholarship. As they are pursuing their academic work, we still assist them by at least once in a while providing some stipends to them”.

WINNING, THEN REBUILDING

A wining squad is never permanent. Several members of the current UDS side are students that are expected to graduate in November. Tanko has already started preparing for their departure. “You can see that we brought in some young boys towards the end of the game. They are the ones replacing the outgoing players. We included them in the team to gain experience” he said.

Running and executing a well thought out transition strategy has yielded plenty of fruits for the Ghanian university. The university won in Lagos with one group of players. It then assembled a team capable of winning the FISU University World Cup in Dalian, China. In Cairo, some of those players remained, others had moved on and a new generation had begun taking its place. However, the standard remained unchanged. Abdullah said the coaches were deliberate about making new players understand what the UDS football team represents. “Those who were coming in were made to know that this is what the team stands for. Yes, we are a winning team and it’s nothing else but win”.

The Cairo campaign provided a test of whether that culture had survived the transition. And truthfully, it had.

THE WORLD IS NEXT

Victory in Cairo has created another opportunity for the UDS team to test its capacity on the world stage. The Ghanaians will return to the FISU University World Cup as reigning African champions having already experienced the feeling of becoming world champions in Dalian.

That 2025 triumph was itself historic. UDS defeated Paulista University 2–1 in extra time to become the first African university to win the FISU University World Cup Football. According to Abdullah, there is no reason to approach the next edition with reduced ambition. “We are conquering the world again” he declared emphatically.

Mr Tanko was equally direct. “It is a privilege to be at the World Cup once again but we’ll make sure that we keep the trophy in Africa”.

It is an ambitious statement but UDS are no longer speaking only from hope. They have won in Lagos, Dalian and now in Cairo. And behind those victories are a model built around scholarships, intentional recruitment, academic support, coaching and succession.

By Victor Oluwaseun Olabisi