Hartford Athletic announced that it had signed Ugandan forward Sadat Anaku ahead of the 2026 season. The terms of the contract were not disclosed, but it’s believed he’s joined on a two-year deal.
Anaku’s signing had been rumored since the tail end of the 2025 season, when Ugandan media outlets began reporting the transfer. It’s taken some time for it to be formally announced, but Anaku has clearly been a part of Hartford’s offseason plans all along.
At one point, Anaku was regarded as one of the most promising players to come out of Uganda, finishing his youth career with Kampala Capital City Authority as the all-time leading scorer in the Ugandan Juniors League. With the senior team, he scored 22 goals in 67 appearances in the Ugandan top tier, despite some injuries preventing him from being an ever-present for KCCA.
A move to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership in the summer of 2022 seemed to suggest that Anaku was ready to take on another level, but a combination of managerial changes – Dundee had three different managers in less than a year – and an achilles injury robbed him of the chance to make an impact at Tannadice. His contract was not renewed at the end of the 2023-24 season, and he subsequently returned to Uganda.
In his last spell with KCCA, he was once again effective, scoring 5 goals in 14 appearances and totaling just under 1,000 minutes. More importantly, he appeared to be healthy throughout the entire stretch and ready for another shot at a higher level. At 25, this might very well be his last chance to make a jump, but with good health, he appears to have the tools to be an interesting proposition with a potentially high upside.
Anaku joins returnees Michee Ngalina and Adewale Obalola on the Hartford front line, alongside newcomer Augustine Williams. It also gives the Latics 19 players under contract and announced ahead of the 2026 season, with one or two more expected before the opening game in less than a months time.
