Resilience, focus thrust Nabadda to colossal Olympic dream

To audibly state her plight, referee Shamira Nabadda always stands before a player - male or female, tall or short - and makes a direct eye contact before flashing authoritatively flashing a card or final warning.

She has outrightly earned respect nationally and globally for that,  and should have contributed to her latest success - being named among the six support referees to officiate at Paris 2024 Olympics.

With her trademark dreadlocks and girlish smile, the pint-sized Nabadda continues to scale the refereeing heights - from an average midfielder at Western United and Masaka SSS and rookie at the Copa Coca-Cola schools tournament in 2016 to arguably the best female referee in the country.

According to Ronnie Kalema, the Fufa Executive Committee member and the chairperson, Uganda Football Referees Association (UFRA), Nabadda's ascendancy to the global stage has been a well-planned mission by the federation that they are now proud of.

"We expected a big appointment for Nabadda and we are not shocked by the Olympics call. She is in the Caf bracket of about 20 professional referees paid around $2000 (about Shs7m) monthly and therefore they are entitled to getting such assignments courtesy of that retainer," Kalema revealed.

In France this July, Nabadda will be among the 89 match officials selected by Fifa including 21 referees, 42 assistant referees, 20 video officials and six support referees. 

The Bishop Stuart University graduate will be among six support referees, and is also one of the four female match officials from Africa - others being Moroccans Bouchra Karboubi and Jermoumi Fatiha plus Zambian Diana Chikotesha.

Monumental opportunity

According to Kalema, Nabadda's gradual rise has been down to the deep commitment, being a quick learner, high work ethic and resilience which are the basic building blocks to  making it at the top of the trade.

"Her performance has been exceptional in the last two years and she merits such an appointment. We know she won't let us down in Paris because she is now the best woman referee in Uganda and among the top five in Africa," Kalema added.

The UFRA boss says their vision has always been taking a referee at the World Cup tourney and Nabadda has come close to that.

 "It is easier to develop a female referee than the male one. There are few serious female referees that focus on careers like Nabadda while in the men's division it's too crowded."
"She has handled most of the biggest games in Uganda and on the continental and won't be disrupted by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology because she has encountered it before," opined Kalema, a former Fifa referee.

Among other tournaments, Nabadda has been at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) tournament held in Morocco in 2022, Cecafa Zonal U17 AFCON Qualifiers in Ethiopia (2022), Caf Women’s Champions League and World University games in Italy and is now ended to the Parc des Princes in Paris on August 10.

Super proud 

Globally, active referees are barred from offering interviews about the game but an elated Nabadda couldn't hide her joy.

She got the good news on the phone while driving back to Najjera and immediately called her parents Quraish Mutagubya and Mastulla Birungi in Mbarara plus her elder brother who is based in Qatar.

"I got scared and for the first time felt proud of myself because I really deserved this opportunity," she revealed with a tinge of satisfaction and hope.

She will be the second Uganda to officiate at the Olympics after Ali Tomusange in 2000 in Australia who later featured at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan

Nabadda is quick to state traits that make her a stand out performer - boldness and keeping fit.

"It is not easy to keep fit all the time. That is why I became a gym rat, play a lot of football at Najjera and Makerere University playground and also routinely revisit the laws of the game," she adds.

An introvert, Nabadda attends her Fimbo Styles clothes shop at Kyaliwajjala Mall in her free time as she waits for the next assignment.

She prefers to elucidate about the challenges she faces in the male-dominated realm that unearthing the success and riches she is harvesting from blaring the whistle.

"You have to brave the fans' ire and chants right from warm up upto to the match. Recently, I was buying something at Ham Mall downtown and a random fan ridiculed me with vulgar utterances in front of everyone and I felt out of place. Regardless we move on," she reminisces.

The devout Muslim who is observing the Ramathan Period, can't wait for the upcoming Eidh Mubarak next week so that she can share a celebratory meal with her parents and larger family in Mbarara.

According to Fufa Communications director Ahmed Hussein, Nabadda appointment has been long over due because the federation rates her highly.

" We are sure she will excel in whatever capacity she is employed in Paris and we hope she can inspire more women referees. She is carrying the nation on her shoulders and as fufa we feel we have achieved our target of taking officials at global events," Hussein stressed.