In the late 19th century the sport of association football first obtained a foothold in the major port cities of Eastern Africa before spreading into the interior with the establishment of railway lines, missionary schools and military bases for the colonial armies.

[8] These missionaries included Robert Henry Walker, George Lawrence Pilkington and Alexander Gordon Fraser.

Following the early work of A. G. Fraser, the Budo Old Boys was established around 1909 including the development of an alumni football team.

[13] Over the next two decades the United Budonians remained a dominant force in Ugandan football and won the Kampala and District League as late as 1949.

[9][15] Both the Budo School and the Old Boys fielded separate sides in the competition, each winning the trophy on a number of occasions.

The nature of the competition eventually changed with teams like Public Works Department (PWD or Piida), Entebbe Government Printing Press (Puleesi), Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours (Leerwe) coming to prominence in the tournament.

[16] By 1957 political problems had arisen when the Buganda Football Association were refused permission by the parent body to run the Kabaka's Cup competition.

Teams like Kampala City Council FC, Nsambya and NIC became members of the newly formed second division of the National League.

In terms of records the highest goalscorer in KDFL history was Ali Kitonsa of Express FC who scored 54 goals in 18 appearances during the 1964 season.

Badru Kakungulu was a prince in the Buganda Royal Family, and leading political figure and leader of the Muslim community in Uganda in the twentieth century.