After resolving his contract dispute with Uganda Premier League club Wakiso Giants FC, highly-rated Ugandan defender Ronald Madoi will join Italian lower league outfit Unione Sportiva Lucera Calcio, The Nerve Africa sources have exclusively confirmed.
The 20-year-old received clearance from FIFA declaring him a free agent after months of backlash with his former team Wakiso Giants. The latter had claimed that he was still contracted and thus blocked his initial move to Greek side SFK Pierikos.
With the saga over, Madoi has secured a move to Lucera Calcio. A source at his Ssepuya Inc. agency has disclosed that the player will travel to Italy on Tuesday for his medical tests, before subsequently signing a four-year contract.
“We have been working overtime since the move to Pierikos fell through. We secured an even better deal at Lucera Calcio. The travel arrangements have been booked for Tuesday. It’s important given the contract of four years. We think it’s crucial for his development,” the source told The Nerve Africa.
At the club, he will play alongside former Uganda Premier League forward Innocent Media, who joined Lucera Calcio last year from Arua Hill SC. The club also harbors former SC Villa striker Oscar Mawa.
Meanwhile, Madoi is a product of Uganda Schools football giants, St. Mary’s Secondary School, Kitende, which he helped clinch the 2023 National Schools Football Championship at the expense of St. Henry’s Kitovu.
He has also been through the national team ranks including the U17, U20, and U23 teams. He was part of Uganda’s team that won the 2017 U17 CECAFA title. He also helped the Uganda U20 team clinch the 2022 CECAFA trophy in Sudan, as they qualified for the Egypt Africa Cup of Nations, before getting eliminated at the quarterfinal stage by Nigeria.
