Time to discover, learn and bond

What you need to know:

Football time. While some spouses decry the football season, Gumisiriza Mwesigye gives you tips to survive in this African cup of nations season that started yesterday in Gabon.

Though this January comes with unprecedented high temperatures, it is also the month of high hopes. For some reason, 2017 come at a time when we are generally optimistic about what is in store for us over the next 350 days.
Talking of which, this feel-good zeitgeist (or to sound simple, the general mood) may be because it is still the beginning of the year. We still have resolutions and we are riding on the kind of high that comes with embarking on a fresh start. May be, however deceptive considering what is in the news, it is because of our fortune in the world of football.

Uganda made it
That Uganda is headed to African Cup of Nations (Afcon) is already a foregone conclusion. But many, in fact very many, of those who will be cheering the team were not even born the last time The Cranes was at this continental showpiece.
After a 39-year absence, we are coming in to Gabon from the cold. But as if Lady Luck had not smiled enough in our direction, we arrived there as Best Team of the Year and our goalkeeper as Best Player. The accolades were the awards organised by CAF—African football governing body—which held more than a week ago.
This will definitely give us a spring in our steps before the reality of qualifying from the first round hit us square in the face. Matched against seasoned teams and perennial campaigners, our team faces an uphill battle.
So, while women are football fans, these are considered more or less outliers. In our society, what is normal is the men who are the football fans. But this time, since it is more than just a football tournament to Ugandans, we (the men) should make a deliberate effort to make this more than “out with the boys to watch soccer”.
Since football is a team sport, in the same spirit, let us team with ours sisters, wives, girlfriends, daughters, cousins and all those “she” relations and make it a time to discover, learn and bond.

Discover
For starters, the tournament is being hosted in Gabon. Where is this place? How are the people like? What do they eat? What language do they speak? How do they look like? Unlike Kenya or Tanzania, which we are more familiar with, Gabon is like uncharted territory we should discover. And this is the opportune time to do so.
Learn
The Uganda Cranes will be in Port-Gentil. This is second largest city, the main sea port and where the oil industry is based. Lonely Planet, a travel website, describes it thus “…..named for former French administrator Émile Gentil, but if you do swing by you’ll see Gabon’s petroleum industry and economic engine up close – perhaps not a great reason to come, but it makes a change from wildlife-watching.” Is that all? Of course not, that is why we need to use the Afcon season to learn more about not only Port-Gentil but the country.

Bond
As we discover and learn, we also bond. Even the relationship counsellors, with their scripted advice, will agree that people do things or spend time together, they tend to bond. Afcon should for the men to bond with their “she-relations” whether they make the 2,311 km trip from Uganda to Gabon or follow events on TV or use Google to discover and learn.

About afcon

The Africa Cup of Nations, officially CAN also referred to as African Cup of Nations, or AFCON, is the main international association football competition in Africa.
It is sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, it has been held every two years. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition. In 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa was originally scheduled to compete, but were disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power.
-wikipedia