Nabweteme pleased to keep breaking ground

 KAMPALA- Last week Crested Cranes striker Sandra Nabweteme completed her engineering studies at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), USA. 
If the reaction on her social media is anything to go by, her bachelor’s degree – is a welcome inspiration for female footballers.

“I am happy to do this for the people I love, especially my mother,” the striker, who majored in Engineering Physics and minored in Mathematics, shares.

“If it was up to me, I would long have chosen only football but mom pushed me to finish school,” Nabweteme says of her mother Angela Nabukeera, who played for Kampala United in the early 2000s.

Long journey to USA
Nabweteme, following in Nabukeera’s steps, honed her talent among boys at the age of six – first under the tutelage of her grandmother Geturidah Nalubowa in Natete before she moved closer to her mother, working in Katwe then. Things started to change for this self-proclaimed “Kid from Katwe” – a slogan adopted from LeBron James (a kid from Akron, Ohio), rather than the Hollywood chess-inspired movie Queen of Katwe – in 2007 when her village team was invited to play Proline Academy.
She was persuaded to join the academy from where many spotted her but kept their distance because of her roots.

“At the time many looked at people from Katwe as chaotic, thieves or even murderers. Even Ayub (Khalifan of Kawempe Muslim Secondary School) had his doubts about my background.”
Khalifan haggled for her signature with former Cranes goalkeeper Paul Ssali, who wanted her to join St. Augustine Nsumba, but key decision maker Nabukeera, was sold on Kawempe’s culture. For long, all there was for female footballers was schools’ competitions. But these made a firm foundation for when the league started in 2014.
Nabweteme inspired Kawempe to the first two titles in the Fufa Women Elite League (FWEL) as top scorer in the 2014/15 (17 goals) and 2015/16 (23) seasons – making her an instant inspiration for peers and juniors alike.

“I am happy to lead but it comes with pressure. I cannot give up on soccer because I have to keep working so others can be inspired and even surpass me,” the first winner of the Airtel Fufa Female Player of the Year (2015) award, says.

It is her achievements with Kawempe that inspired Gafford manager Henry Barungi to connect Nabweteme to SWOSU in 2016 – making her the first Ugandan female footballer to earn a scholarship in USA. She has since been joined by Sandra Nantumbwe, Yudaya Nakayenze, Tracy Jones Akiror and SWOSU teammate Joan Nakirya while Natasha Shiraz (Denmark), Viola Nambi and Rita Kivumbi (Sweden) moved earlier.

Seeking happiness
“I went with high expectations especially to play college soccer but, honestly, it became a bit frustrating and boring
Yes, there is competition but it is not normal soccer. The coaches want everyone to get an opportunity so the substitutions are rolling and you do not play enough,” Nabweteme, who played four seasons of college football, shared.

Despite all of that, in 2019, she set a record as the school’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Burkina Faso striker Almata Rabo (74 goals) and winning a host of other accolades.
So where does she go from here?
“I just want to be happy and live in the present. I have been doing what other people want me to do so I feel a bit free now.” 
There have been offers to play professional football for seven months but some have been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
So surely a return home?

“Not a chance,” she says after a hearty laugh. “I love my country but part of me is happy to reflect on a few things especially now that there is no national team football.” Nabweteme was not happy on her last national team engagement, where Uganda lost 4-2 on aggregate to Ethiopia in the Caf Olympics Qualifiers.

“Our performance in Ethiopia was not good at all but we thought we would do better at home,” Nabweteme recalls when they rallied with two stoppage time goals to keep the encounter alive at 3-2 in Addis Ababa. 

In Lugogo, she started on the bench even when everyone was eager to see what her American spice would add to the partnership she enjoyed with Hasifah Nassuna in Kawempe. They only had about 15 minutes together on pitch.

“The atmosphere that morning was strange and I got a hint I was not starting. I quickly reprogrammed myself to play motivator on the team.

The minutes I got should have been enough to impact the game but Ethiopia scored just after I jumped on.”

When she got home, there was no time to reflect as no one wanted to talk about football but rather catch up on the years they had missed her. “I only got a chance to thoroughly think about the game when I was on the plane back to USA.”

By then, there was little she could do. For now she stays in recess until December 9, when she goes away to acquaint herself with work in the engineering field for six months. 
Hopefully to inspire more.

AT A GLANCE
Born: November 1, 1996
2005-2006: Bright Start, Natete (P1-P2)
2007-2009: New Progressive, Natete (P3-P7)
2008-2009: Proline Soccer Academy from
2010-2015: Kawempe Muslim SS (O & A Levels)
2016-2020: Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Selected Achievements
National Post Primaries: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014
Won a host of other trophies; Kawempe Division Post Primaries, UMEA Cup, Women’s Day Cup, Independence Cup etc
FWEL Champion and top scorer: 2014-15 (17 goals), 2015-16: (23)
2019: Great American Conference (GAC) champion
2019: GAC- offensive player of the year
GAC: All Conference Team