Hello

Your subscription is almost coming to an end. Don’t miss out on the great content on Nation.Africa

Ready to continue your informative journey with us?

Hello

Your premium access has ended, but the best of Nation.Africa is still within reach. Renew now to unlock exclusive stories and in-depth features.

Reclaim your full access. Click below to renew.

From flying bikes to making strides in football

Isabella Blick races in an MX junior race in the past. PHOTOS/JOHN BATANUDDE 

What you need to know:

Daily Monitor’s decision to lead with Isabella’s picture for the post-match report ahead of six-goal hero Nabukenya got tongues wagging – which, by the way, is a huge point of any report. And Izzy, who we might all see as a national star and forget is a child, was alive to the criticism.

Musician Alicia Keys had someone like Isabella Winifred Kabarozi Blick in mind when she recorded the pre-chorus of ‘Girl on fire’.

“Oh-oh, she got both feet on the ground

And she's burnin' it down

Oh-oh, she got her head in the clouds

And she's not backin' down,” Keys sang.

Izzy, as she is famously known from her motocross days, is a late developer in football. She only started playing it at 12 in 2020 but you will struggle to meet a more self-aware athlete that works tirelessly almost every day of her life to compress timeframes. We are talking about a player that does not use her phone on match day. Such is the discipline and focus.

“After the (Covid-19) lockdown, it was clear I was not going back to motocross. I had tried many sports like basketball, swimming, volleyball, tennis and football. I also used to follow my brother (William) to football as he was training with Edgars (Youth Football Programme), and day after day it became more serious,” Izzy shares.

Her father International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and former UOC president William Blick further explains that “we were caught in the middle of the motocross wrangles at the time and she even lost her sponsorship from (dairy products producers) Jesa.

“At the time, Jesa and Pepsi, which was sponsoring motocross, had the same advertising agency and they told the Jesa about the wrangles, disgruntlement among fans and a lot more. I had to make a decision as a parent as I also thought motocross had no future.

We played a lot of football during Covid-19 because one of the Edgars’ coaches stays just near here. We have a garden here so she and her brother played a lot of football. I also wanted to get her a scholarship to study in the UK and they have many for girls playing football. She can also work while there and that is part of the motivation she has,” Blick shares.

National team colours 

Shortly after lockdown, Isabella, who rests just once a week, joined the Edgars’ team (Rubaga Girls). But once they had a friendly with Uganda Martyrs High School Lubaga, which beat them terribly and the latter’s coaches convinced her to make the switch.

“They liked her height but advised her to work on her speed and strength on the ball. They put her on the senior team where she could get a few minutes then play even more with the junior team,” Blick recalls.

Fast forward to 2024, Isabella was selected to represent Uganda in the U-16 Uefa Friendship Tournament. It was a tough outing where they lost 7-0 to Paraguay, 1-0 to Wales, and 4-1 to China in a match where Asia Kakayi scored.

Izzy, however, got Uganda’s equalizer in the 3-2 win over Botswana in a classification match. Angel Ainembabazi and Shadia Nabirye, now her teammate at U-17 level, scored the others.

“That tournament helped me see the different levels of the girls around the world. Overall, it was a good experience because I also scored,” Izzy shares.

Isabella Blick (in yellow) skips a Namibian player in the U-17 World Cup qualifiers. 

Her dad said the team’s coach Charles Ayiekoh further advised about her need for strength and the assistant at the time Moses Nkata has been in touch for encouragement from time to time.

Last week on Thursday, national teams coach Sheryl Botes added to the number of strong believers in this “fast learner” when she named her as one of the substitutes for the first leg of the first round of the Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup qualification campaign, which Namibia chose to host at Hamz Stadium – Nakivubo.

“I was so excited, the first person I called was my dad. I was also happy for my friend Rashidah (Nakalema) because it (pre-selection) was a very stressful time and we had been supporting each other,” the lanky Isabella says.

Her father says “she did not believe she would make the cut but we encouraged her to be in camp and learn as much as she can. When she was singled out as one of the players with good strength, she called back in disbelief that the things she is working on are being noticed.”

After making the cut, the next fear was on whether she would have game time or not and it came but with further surprises as the player who has been working as a striker was fielded as an attacking midfielder. It did not matter though. The goal was to get on pitch.

Towards the 70th minute, was seen speaking to Botes, who the teenager now reveals told her to “keep doing what you have been doing in training. We have a good lead and there is no need for you to panic or be under pressure.”

“Maybe coach sees an element of a midfielder in me but I am not sure why. I was just very happy that I was brought on. I saw time was running down and started to wonder if I will get on or not but I knew I would score if I got on,” the 16 year old recalls.

Memorable goal

In the 78th minute, she scored Uganda’s ninth goal against Namibia in a 10-0 hauling. The goal, she agrees, is the highlight of her career as it came in a more prestigious competition and also at home.

“Two minutes in, we got the corner kick, I headed it and tapped it in. I was so excited that I forgot which side the cameras were and which celebration to do. I had planned and told everyone that I would do the Cristiano (Ronaldo) celebration because he is my G.O.A.T (greatest of all time), the best player in the world.”

She eventually did the famous “Siu” celebration as her dad, who was in the stands with Fufa chief executive officer Edgar Watson and renowned coach Sam Ssimbwa, punched endlessly but gently in the air. Izzy believes she could have capped it well by wearing her preferred shirt number 7 but she had earlier chosen to continue with the 9 she wore in Turkey on her first time in national colours.

“Cristiano is my biggest inspiration because of the things he has done to get where he is. I read many stories about how he is the first and last to arrive at training.

“I also like (Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Braut) Haaland because he scores goals but my teammate Agnes Nabukenya is also very impressive. We play the same position and I am always watching what she does so that when I come on, I can do the same thing because she was top scorer last season.

“Honestly, even that goal. In training, they would tell her to stand at the edge of the box during corners, so when I came on, I made sure to stand just there. I have been telling my teammates that they should put me on so I can also score six goals,” Izzy, who supports English side Chelsea and was donning their jersey at home when we met, shares.

Criticism 

Daily Monitor’s decision to lead with Isabella’s picture for the post-match report ahead of six-goal hero Nabukenya got tongues wagging – which, by the way, is a huge point of any report. And Izzy, who we might all see as a national star and forget is a child, was alive to the criticism.

“I have been getting a lot of attention lately, which is nice and very good, even though there is a bit of hate that I see on social media.

“But my parents and my family members have been reaching out and telling me not to pay attention but to keep doing my best. What matters too is that all my teammates are happy and I also think it is an advantage for the team to be able to promote each of us and bring attention to us in whichever way possible,” Izzy shares.

Blick says they do not need to hide anything from her but analogies have helped ease the tension.

“I tell her that it is just like when she watches Haaland miss on TV and says she would have done better. The fans are going to have the same opinions if things do not go well for her, the Shs10,000 they paid to watch you is what gives them the entitlement and not necessary that they have anything against you.

We tell her that she will be insulted, her abilities questioned, sometimes even her colour, but that is part of the game and it should not bring her down,” Blick shares.

On Sunday, in the second leg, Isabella scored again to put off even more critics. This time, she started the match and scored Uganda’s third as Uganda won 8-1. She could have scored another in the 90th minute and the referee had initially counted her effort but cancelled it because she had collided with one of the Namibians.

Izzy was eventually stretchered off after the incident and continues to treat the injury. But the support from family on the day was even bigger as close cousins, uncles and aunties made it to Nakivubo but rather than build pressure “it just made me happier to see everyone around.”

“When I saw the lineup, I knew I was going to get more minutes than I had had on Thursday but the goals were coming in slow,” she revealed.

Learning from others 

Despite the highlight reels, Izzy is even more critical about the nitty-gritties of the game as it panned out.

“I think I was passing well but I was struggling to receive the ball, especially the chest control. I lost a bit of the high balls that came to me.

“The coaches have tried to teach us new skills. They have already given us some fitness drills to do and ensure we are in shape when we get into camp for Kenya (second qualification round. Even in such a short time, coach Botes has been good for us, she really cracks lots of jokes after training and I am improving as a player.”

As she returns to the club, Izzy is aware about the competition she finds. Latifah Nakasi, UMHS’s main striker is arguably the best in that role in the league so playing time is really limited. She has, however, blossomed in the junior team, where she has doubled on her work.  

“The competitiveness helps me become a better player. It is stressful but it is a good thing even in the junior team. At the senior team, I mostly see my opportunities as learning experiences because the girls there are more exposed, you can see their intensity.”

Izzy is even open to sharing her attacking midfield experience with her club coaches and see if there are opportunities to do more in the role. Switching or alternating positions should be easy for someone who changed from one sport to another.

Isabella Blick wheels away after scoring a goal against Namibia in 10-0 win. 

“Yeah, it was not easy to switch sports, especially because most of the other girls started younger. But I believe there is always a chance for someone that is talented and works hard with discipline.”

Even though she misses the bikes sometimes and is open to doing a fan race, there is no more switching now that she is a national team football player.

Family legacy 

“Honestly, I look back now and do not understand how I was flying that high and at that speed. It is not something that I would want my younger sister to do but I guess at the time, I just loved doing it and it was probably normal for me to tell people I was doing motocross, and I did not even know that you had to separate girls and boys.

“I do remember being a bit stressed sometimes because you are all alone out there when you mess up or fail to perform.

"But the adrenaline and freedom to do what I want (on the bike) is what I miss most. You do not get that from any other sport. Maybe, the fans too and the fact that it is a family sport,” Izzy, whose connection to motocross now is down to whether her family members are going to an event or not, shares.

She has probably been on a bike once since she started football, “recently, when my cousin Paddy (Arthur Blick’s son) came around on the 450(cc) bike he rides to school, I took a ride around the neighbourhood.”

Her goal, however, is to grow her family’s sporting legacy in football, a sport her grandfather Paddy played alongside motocross and boxing, even further.

“Our Blick genes are strong. Yes, we have the name but no one is really telling us to do this or that, many of our family members are academically strong too.

“We have excelled in various sports and I feel sport is the same concept. If you love it, you will be there and I believe I carried the passion I had for motocross here and that will help me achieve my goals like playing for some of the top clubs in Europe.

“If that does not go according to plan, I will continue with my studies. I have done internships in architecture, financing, diplomacy, interior design. I am still exploring to see what I will focus on,” says the Year 12 (Senior Five) student at the French School in Lugogo, where they only study in French.

“By the way, sometimes, it takes me a while to process everything when I get home. I have to be quiet for a while because I spend the whole day speaking French at school and no one speaks it here (at home).”

Izzy at a glance

Name: Isabella Blick

Parents: William and Belinda Blick

School: French School

Class: Year 12

Sports in national colours: Motocross, football

Football levels: U-16, U-17

Club: Uganda Martyrs High School

Position: Forward