She Cranes’ uphill journey to the World Cup

From the Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago in 1979 to the Australian capital, Sydney, in 2015, Uganda had, for donkey years, waited to return to the Netball World Cup like the Israelites did before they reached the Promised Land.

Under normal circumstances, finishing eighth is a modest accomplishment, which would not stir much euphoria. But achievements are judged according to expectations and who knew that Uganda, only playing their second Netball World Cup after 36 years, would jump from 14th to eighth position.

Looking back, the wait was worthwhile and as the girls unanimously believe, the sport can only get better. Now, before the dust from the celebrations settles down, we revisit the bumpy road to Sydney: the challenges, lessons learnt, achievements and anticipations.

Bumpy road
“The road to Sydney wasn’t easy,” the captain Peace Proscovia, shares. Nothing came easy, not even the most basic of requirements such as training grounds.

The players were tossed from place to place before they could get access to a suitable training ground. First, they could not access Nakivubo because it was gazetted for rehabilitation.

They resorted to Makerere University but the tarmac court there was not friendly either. They tried out Mandela National Stadium and Lugogo Indoor Stadium, without much luck.

“Thankfully, in July, NIC insured all the players’ health and Asiatic Sports provided us with kits.

We also got access to an international standard court at GEMS Cambridge International School,” says Proscovia. About 40 girls started training only thrice a week since November in preparation for Sydney.

There were also individual sacrifices to be made. For instance, Martha Soigi, a Kampala University lecturer, had to resume training in April although she had had a baby in January.

“…it was not that easy to cope and regain full fitness in that short spell. I had even surprised myself having made it to the last 15. And when I was dropped, I was not shocked.”

Ruth Meeme, a third year BBA student at Nkumba University, also had to juggle training with preparing for exams. And all the players had to make financial sacrifices to supplement their training needs.

Qualifying for the World Cup was a marathon which started way back in 2013. First, was a tiresome 1755 miles bus drive from Kampala to Blantyre, Malawi, for the African Netball Championship in June 2013.

“We spent a full week on the road to Blantyre and had to play the following day. We emerged third, though,” goalkeeper, Florence Nanyonga, recounts.

Later that year, lack of facilitation saw the She Cranes miss their first flight to Singapore. “We missed our scheduled flight, and our first match was ruled as a walkover in favour of our opponents.” Still, the resilient team won the Six Nations’ Cup.

The Botswana campaign was the turning point. Despite surviving on a miserly Shs600, 000 as upkeep, they won all their matches and qualified for the just-concluded World Cup. The dream had come true.

Enter coach drama
By mid-July, the 15 players thought they had weathered all the storms and all minds were on who would make the final 12 to Sydney.

In a dramatic turn of events, their coach Fred Mugerwa, was fired and Rashid Mubiru was hired to replace him. Mugerwa had been at the helm of the national team since 1998.

“At first we felt so bad and demotivated but we reminded ourselves that this was our future, and coach Mugerwa had done his job. He had imparted all the skills and we were indebted to him to deliver, even in his absence,” inspirational centre Meeme says.

All the girls had was passion, determination and teamwork for motivation. Mugerwa’s farewell message became the mantra they would refer to throughout the journey. He had said; “Do me a favour and advance from the first group, then you will handle the rest as it comes. I wish you good luck and I will always miss you.”

Whenever things got tough, they reminded each other to “do it for Coach Mugerwa”. “I attribute our achievements to teamwork. Even when Mugerwa left, we remained united as he had nurtured us, on and off the court,” Meeme, one of the best performers, recounts.

Fortunately, the new coach Mubiru, quickly succeeded in mending the girls’ broken hearts. “We really appreciate, Coach Mubiru for adjusting to the new job in a very short period,” says Proscovia.”

Life in Sydney
Save for the cold weather and the unusual time zone, Sydney was habitable. The She Cranes resided in Ibis Hotel. They could access African foods from other hotels.
“The crowds were so supportive of us; everyone wondered how short girls put up such a spirited challenge,” Meeme recalls. “You would hear them scream ‘Come on Rachel get that shot’; because we were short, kids thought were as young. They could not miss watching us play.”

Despite a warm-up loss to New Zealand, the She Cranes started the World Cup, firing from all cylinders, seeing off Zambia 74-38 and quickly adding Fiji to their list of victims, 61-40 in scintillating style.

At that point, former coach Mugerwa’s wish had been granted. Uganda had reached the second group stage.

Meeme agrees with the suggestion that if they had won all their first three games, they stood better chances; “That is why we fought so hard against Wales; hoping that if we defeated them, we would stand chances of upsetting any of the giants (Australia, South Africa or England) in the second group phase.
But would they have performed better had Mugerwa been in charge? “No, we did our best; even coach Mubiru did his best. What we did was beyond our potential; we faced superior, more experienced, better prepared opponents, who know netball like the back of their hands.”

Audacity of hope
From their wide smiles throughout their homecoming, to the expansive media attention they attracted en route to and from Sydney, the She Cranes believe the face of their beloved sport is finally changing for the better.

When they attempted a car washing drive, the public frowned, thinking it was one desperate move too many. Yet, “It was not necessarily a fundraiser, it was meant to create public awareness; making the girls known just like the footballers and to popularise the game, in general,” Meeme explained.

The Sports ministry and the National Council of Sports “misconstrued” the campaign as a money-making gimmick and it was cancelled. But the World Cup success, Meeme believes will make the little known sport appreciated and catered for.

Proscovia is even more confident; “Come 2019, the She Cranes could lift that trophy, at least reach the semis. But, only if all stakeholders—the federation, players, corporate companies, individuals and government—do not give up.”