Fufa needs to do more for women’s football

When did you start playing football, Did you even dream of becoming a footballer?

I started playing at a tender age like any other child with boys and my brothers. At the age of eight, I was already making it to the boys’ teams in the neighborhood. It was my dream to play football because of the environment I lived in. My brothers always pushed me to play with them and I really liked it. We used to make small teams among ourselves and we lived a happy life.

How was it playing with boys? Did you receive any insults from them or even the community?

The boys never insulted me; actually they were the ones who used to encourage me. I was even better than some of them. At first, I could play with my brothers alone but with time they started taking me to the neighborhood to play with other kids. Since I was the only lady in the gang of boys, everyone was earning to have me on their teams and I ended up being chosen as a captain, a thing that even helped me to captain the national team in the years that followed.  It’s evident the society then never accepted women football and they could look at me with a lot of negativity but again, I had the backup of my family so I didn’t look back. 
Though sometimes I would be shy and stop playing. 
The fact that I was so good some people would make a stop to take a watch at me. Sometimes I would find them arguing whether I am a girl or a boy, when I learnt that, I started confusing them and could steal my brother’s shorts and shirts and put them on.

Later you joined the girls, how did you come to start playing with girls?

Well, my elder brother introduced me to women football. He took me to the Clock Tower playground where women used to play.
By then there was a women’s football team called ‘ Kampala women’ of the late Maama Baker Kazibwe and these women had already played with local teams and traveled several times to Kenya by the time I joined. While taking me he just mentioned that; ‘ I saw women playing football but you are better than them I think you will straight away make their it to team .And he was right because the only person- player I saw on the team that I admired or felt she was better than me was Oliver Mbekeka (ex-international player).

It has been a gradual process to develop women’s football. How was the national team formulated with no league in place and how did you join the team?
After joining the Kampala women’s team, I found them training to select teams that will go to Kenya for a friendly match. That was not their first time, they used to schedule friendlies and play among themselves. It was their second time to go to Kenya though I cannot tell you who used to fund their friendlies.
I joined right in the middle of it all and I did not make it to the team because I needed a lot of polishing by then.

Since it was my first time to play organized football, I had to learn how to use boots and I never knew what kind of position I would play. I remember they asked me about it and I said right midfielder but I didn’t even know the role of a midfielder. And on that team, Oliver Mbekeka who was the best used to play that position and I had to fight for it.
When they came back from Kenya, they had a return leg at Nakivubo and a new team had to be selected again.  During that time, Kenya had already formed a national team and it was the team we used to play against.
Some technical people were brought in to select the best players for our return game in Nakivubo and we travelled to Jinja. I travelled with them and we selected a women’s team from Jinja and Mbale and I received my first call on the team. 
 
After our encounter in Nakivubo, my first women’s game ever, I was selected amongst the best five players to travel and help the other teams from Jinja, Mbale and Nakivubo.
Later, I featured in Nakivubo, Jinja and Mbale teams against the Kenyans, I automatically made it to the first ever women’s national team in Uganda in 1998 which played World/AWCON qualifiers against Egypt but unfortunately we didn’t make it to the tournament.

After a near miss to AWCON in 1998, you finally made the grade two years later. What was the journey like?

2000 AWCON came in a miraculous way though we worked so hard to prepare. Just like the crested cranes have now qualified after Kenya’s withdrawal, it happened in the same way in 2000.  During those days we had no club football not and the league was not even in existence as now but we could carry out training sessions everyday except on Sundays.

After some time, the most prestigious women’s tournament on the continent was knocking and we had to play the qualifiers. We were put in camp for over three weeks at the National Council of Sports hostel where all national teams used to camp by then. Our team was under the stewardship of coach Sam Timbe who would only be with us when we assemble that’s why am very sure federation people would even select players for him 
On match day while in Nakivubo with referees who had travelled to officiate I think from Kenya, we were told that Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had withdrawn from the qualifiers.

By then Uganda was at war with DRC. Their President, Laurent Kabila had promised a chartered plane for them but whatever happened until now no one can tell.
We were just told after that their government blocked them from honoring the fixture against Uganda. 
Consequently, we just received direct qualification to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and we became the first Ugandan women’s team to ever play at AWCON.

How did the Uganda Crested Cranes perform in AWCON 2000?

We played our first game against Zimbabwe and we shared spoils 3-3, then we took over hosts South Africa unfortunately they thrashed us 3-0. Our last fixture was with Reunion and we won 2-1 but I think we were unlucky and couldn’t go beyond the group stages. 
South Africa was said to have played syndicate with Zimbabwe or never played as expected against them so we were out on goal difference.
But besides it was a good experience interacting with the best female players on the continent and some of them were already professional players.

You captained the Uganda Crested Cranes for nine years (2000-2009). How did you manage the captaincy role amidst inadequate facilitation?

As players, we had passion for the game. We were intrinsically motivated hence less-minded about finances but wished we could be entered into competitions. All players respected me though it was a tough life. 

I saw some of the players who left their homeland to be close to Kampala, such that they can train every day and receive a national team call up on a struggling team. Players were motivated by just playing games and travelling.  Sometimes we could get allowance issues (say not given allowances as promised) but we took it easy. Only one time some players refused to give back tracksuits and jerseys after the camp. 
They approached me and said “tell the coordinator that once paid we will bring back their items”. One player from Mbale told me, “I will use this as bed sheets for my kids at least rather than going back with nothing after months away from home”. 
All in all it was indeed a challenging role, captaining a poorly remunerated team but it’s something that shaped me to become the person that some young players adore.

From captaining the national team to a coach player and finally the first ever head coach of U20 women’s national team. How did you make it to the coaching field?

I started my coaching career in 2009 but I had already done a coaching course before in 2007 when I was still a player thus I became a coach player. By then women football was not interesting as many players had gone to Congo and Rwanda to play semi-professional football. In fact, after playing at AWCON, we never played in any competitive tournament.

In 2007, there happened to be a Fifa youth coaching course and Fifa had asked Fufa to involve at least five women.
Since I was the national team captain, I was told to look for other  three fellow players. Most of the top coaches attended that course including the current Fufa CEO, Edgar Watson.
During the course, the Fifa instructor from Germany identified me and mentioned to me about becoming a coach. At first I refused but he advised me to think about it. After the course he engaged with the then Fufa president and instructed him to help me. After all that he gave me the Fifa badge. In 2007, I decided to hang up my boots but no one supported my decision apart from my family members and Dr. Lawrence Mulindwa but the entire football fraternity was against my decision. In 2008 I was named the assistant coach to Timbe before I officially became the head coach of the U20 national team.

I handled the U20 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda. We won the first leg at Nakivubo 2-1 courtesy of goals from Habib Namaalwa through a penalty kick in the first half before Christine Wanyama perfectly curled a free kick to separate the game that was tied 1-1. 
We won the return leg in Kigali and were supposed to play Zambia and the winner could play in the 2011 U20 World Cup. Unfortunately, Fufa withdrew from the qualifiers on grounds that they had no money for preparation.  I and my girls felt disappointed and that was one of my hardest moments in women’s football. 
I was later promoted to the senior national team in 2011, the Crested Cranes but it was also another challenging role. I did not do much with them but it also added something to my experience.  .

Is Fufa doing the right things as regards women football?

I can say they are trying to do some things right and much is still lacking. They lack expertise in the game and most times they talk much more than implementing plans and end up saying, “Women football is developing but until when?”

What will it take to get more players turning pro?

Being trained as professionals is the only way to go.
In spite of all that is happening now, the people who surround these players on and off the pitch are still amateur in the sports world.
The players still lack that mentorship touch but who can give them that? None. You cannot mentor someone to become something they have never experienced.

Is Jean Sseninde your only involvement in grassroots football?

No, I have mentored more women in the game both former players and non-players. I mentored Christine Wanyana, Stella Kaliba to mention but a few. 
Even at the ‘Growing the game for the Girls’, we have many girls that can actually become something if given a chance. I am also proud of the fact that Jean is trying to put all her efforts in women football and her impact can now be seen.

What more should Ugandan clubs and coaches do to enhance players’ growth?

To the players, they should be eager to learn, do a lot of research on the game and get to know that playing soccer does not stop on the pitch and winning games but even off the pitch matter more for women athletes. They should make good decisions keeping in mind that life as athletes (active) is totally different from life after retirement. Sports as a discipline that requires a player to be disciplined in order to succeed.

Lastly, to the Clubs, they should find ways of giving players in the league a better playing environment in terms of finding sponsors, give out some allowances and bonuses so as to motivate the players.
In other words, they should consider working in a professional way rather than what they do currently. Have plans for the retired players for a better life after.

Improved
How much has the game changed from your playing days to now?

During our days, we had no club football though we enjoyed playing throughout the years. However, we had a short league played between 1998 and 1999 not sure whether it was half way in 2000. Clubs like Baale women FC, Jinja Market FC, Kampala women (my team) Kyisonga women FC from Buikwe and so many clubs, to mention but a few. The league used to run on a home and away basis as things are now. Unfortunately, it collapsed in 2000 after Fufa promised teams transport facilitation from fifa grant and never fulfilled.  Later, club leaders relaxed waiting and lost morale. No official communication was done and somehow people lost interest.

Currently we have a well-organised and facilitated league unlike before.
However talent wise it’s the same but before it was more superiority with players in positions much consistency than now
Nothing much has changed only that more fifa grants for women football to federations and rules by fifa and caf for women to play as many games as possible thus the more games for players at national level than our days when we were at federation mercy and never received such facilitation.

Nowadays, women football is known and embraced everywhere apart from a few societies like in Somalia. This is not the case in the old days where we had to fight with societal perceptions and the related consequences. One thing that hasn’t changed even today is the fact that women football is still not a top priority. With all the publicity, players still play for nothing in terms of facilitation yet they sacrifice a lot to play. I wonder what life after football would be if even the men who are paid become poppers after...