This is the fourth edition of the tournament, which was inaugurated in 2016. Uganda were the inaugural hosts of this tournament. But as they host it for the second time, all hands are expected to be on deck, with focus being on winning a maiden trophy. The previous editions in 2016 and 2018 were won by Tanzania, before Kenya also threw its weight around by winning the 2019 tournament.
However, key to Uganda’s cause will be striker Hasifa Nassuna, who recently clocked 100 career goals, a landmark in as far as women’s football is concerned in the country. With Nassuna’s recent feat, the 24-year-old UCU Cardinals player has placed herself on the pedestal of Uganda’s finest icons in women’s football.
“I am happy about what I have achieved, reaching the 100 goals mark. But I also must admit, when I was starting out to play competitive football at the top level, it was not something that I had within my sights. But the simple truth is that hard work, passion and dedication have enabled me realize this,” Nassuna said.
To score 100 goals is stuff of legends. And it is the kind of feat that inevitably places Nassuna among the greatest women footballers to ever grace the Pearl of Africa. This has not been an achievement born out of luck, but longevity in the game, inspired by a fairy-tale story.
Nassuna was born to Ann Nakimbugwe back in 1998. At the time, Nakimbugwe was turning out for Uganda’s first recognized women’s national team, the Crested Cranes under the late Dennis Obua-led Fufa. And at the age of three, Nassuna used to tag along to watch her mother train everyday with her teammates.
That marked the moment of Nassuna’s formative years in the game.
Nassuna said: “My mother has been my finest idol, because she taught me most of the things that have made me the person I am, especially in regards to football. But also discipline, hard work and determination.”
Nassuna’s background is not formed by a well-to-do family at all. Her mother leads a daily life of hardship and struggle. In another life, perhaps, Nassuna could have been a street-kid that survives on begging. But to get to where she is, football has been Nassuna’s bedrock, earning her a scholarship to study at the prized Kawempe Muslim Secondary school, and now to be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication.
“Football has built my future. And even as I celebrate the goals I have scored, more importantly, football has given me some status in society, earned me recognition, contacts and friends, alongside whom I have built a life to be proud of and also look forward to,” Nassuna told The Observer.
Clearly humble, calm and collected, Nassuna is not easily excitable. She keeps her feet on the ground. Her dream is to become a professional footballer. There are so many of her kind playing in Europe and the USA. Nassuna’s former coach at Kawempe Muslim, Khalifa Kiyingi told The Observer that he remains surprised that Nassuna has not had her dream breakthrough of becoming a pro.
“She has got the attributes to succeed at the top level of professional football. She is a dribbler, a good passer, a long-range shooter of the ball and a finisher. That is the reason she has scored 100 goals. She is efficient and reliable in front of goal,” he said.
In Uganda, professional football remains a pipe dream, because save for transport allowances, food and match bonuses, Nassuna and many other young women who play football cannot claim that it is what sustains them. Although, Fufa too has got to be given credit for raising the bar for women’s football. The women’s game has gained so much prominence since a structured and organized league was started in 2014.
In fact, Nassuna and a number of her peers have earned the respect; each passing day women’s football continues to gain traction globally. Nassuna and her colleagues look back with pride on how the platform to play football here and beyond borders has also given them a sense of importance, earning them education scholarships and playing opportunities outside Uganda, because of the football careers they have built.
The Cecafa women’s championship is a precursor to bigger things. In July, Nassuna will try to have a go at winning the Africa Women’s Championship in Morocco. Her mother tried to in 2000, when South Africa hosted it, but fell short.
Now, Nassuna, who scored 15 goals for UCU Cardinals in the 2021/22 season, bringing her total tally of career goals to 106, has a chance to put her front foot forward, beyond the four league titles and one cup she has won in her career. Maybe this is the year she conquers new territory and takes women’s football to another level, making her the greatest of all time.
Christine Wanyana, in her late 30s now, was captain of the Crested Cranes 10 years ago. Because of her height, she was an imposing player and a true leader by default. She used to martial the defence as number five. Today, she works as a sports tutor at Seven Hills International school, after many years of serving women’s football in Uganda.
Fazila Ikwaput, who plies her trade in the Fufa Women’s Super League, is probably one that belies her full potential. She is the one Ugandan female footballer that has played at the grandest of stages. In 2018, she turned out for Kazakhstan side Biik Kazygurt in the Uefa Champions League against sides like Barcelona.
Majidah Nantanda used to be Wanyana’s coach between 2009 and 2016. But before then, she played for the Crested Cranes alongside Nassuna’s mother. Clearly, she has gone through the rough and tumble of the game in Uganda. But today, she is proudly a Fifa instructor, travelling widely, to train coaches, including men.
Fauzia Najjemba, a scorer of great goals, recently left Kampala Queens, to sign a two-year contract with Kazakhstan’s Biik Kazygurt, as if to suggest that she replaces Ikwaput. The former under-20 captain shoulders great potential, to become a legend. But already, her talent has propelled her to a level where she is now an icon of the women’s game in Uganda.
Tracy Jones Akiror is one of the finest midfielders to play the game in recent times. Having represented Kawempe Muslim women’s football team and the Crested Cranes so profoundly, she earned a scholarship to study at Seminole State College and the Lindsey Wilson College, both in the USA. She plays in the United Soccer League Two in the USA.
Juliet Nalukenge has been defined by athleticism, as one of her greatest football tools. Yet, at 19, she is one player who hit the ground running so early. Her development path has been well structured, moving through the under-17s, under-20s up to the senior team.
Nalukenge was named Ugandan Women’s Player of the Year in 2019 and in March 2021 finished ninth in the goal.com Next Generation Award for the best young female footballer in the world. She recently joined Cypriot football club, Chrysomilia.
At 29, Jean Sseninde is one of the most recognizable figures attached to women’s football in Uganda. She has been instrumental in organizing football tournaments for young girls to showcase their talent. Sseninde played for the Crested Cranes as a defender back in 2016.
But her football formative years were highly influenced in England, where she turned out for Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace in the women’s league. Sseninde has closely worked in South Sudanese football, and last year she started the Jean Sseninde United Limited, a professional football services organization.
Sandra Nabweteme is currently on loan at Icelandic top-flight women’s football league side, FH. She was loaned out from Por/KA FC, two-time league champions in Iceland. The interest of the Icelandic teams emphasizes how good a player Nabweteme has been. At 25 years of age, she has already won two league titles, in 2015 and 2016 for Kawempe Muslim.
During that time, the forward scored 40 league goals in 23 games.
jovi@observer.ug
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