The Tokyo International Conference for African Development (Ticad) Cup, held its fourth edition Ugandan version football tournament last weekend, running from September 4 to 6 at the Fufa technical centre in Njeru.
The tournament is a gathering of different girls and youthful women teams. Since the tournament’s inception here in 2022, beyond the competitive element that women’s football has gained across Uganda, the Ticad Cup has been a platform for both refugees and the host community (Ugandans) to mingle for the fostering of good relations.
Yet, in fitting with the purpose of the Ticad, which is a forum that was initiated by the Japan government to bolster programmes aimed at pushing for the improvement of African lives from a social and economic standpoint, a host of girls playing football, especially refugees, are experiencing are more hopeful shaping of their future.
One such girl is Annet Nebatembe, 17, who is expected to represent the Rwamwanja refugee settlement girls football team this weekend. This will be the third time that Nebatembe features in the Ticad Cup organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the first time being in 2023, before the actual importance of this annual tournament dawned on many.
It should be noted that in 2016, Nebatembe was uprooted from her home in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in a place called Bukavu. The political unrest in that area compelled Nebatembe’s parents to relocate before her eighth birthday, only to find themselves in Rwamwanja, a settlement in Kamwenge district, which is in Western Uganda.
However, considering how challenging life can be when one is in a foreign land, especially as far as shaping a source of income, Nebatembe’s parents did not find life any easier. Not hearing gunshots in Rwamwnja, like had been a routine in Bukavu, did not mean that they had peace.
Finding food and also ensuring that the children were in school was always a hard prospect. For Nebatembe, who had big dreams, being out of school for periods became a given, as her parents struggled to raise her tuition.
“It was only after something was paid that I could go to school. Otherwise, when there was a delay, I sat at home and waited,” Nebatembe said.
Such a situation was always a recipe for disaster. As the saying goes, “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop”, Nebatembe was always at risk of picking up anti-social behaviour, or even, could have ended up becoming a child mother, something that has widely been reported as prevalent among refugee communities.
Yet, because of Nebatembe’s love for Lionel Messi, arguably the best footballer in the world over the last two decades, she found solace in playing football with her friends. These included both the refugees and the host community children.
So, under the guidance of coach Yannick Noah, also a refugee from the DRC, a girls football team from Rwamwanja was formed.
At Nebatembe’s first appearance at the Ticad Cup in 2023, together with her teammates, they faced the harsh reality of being humiliated by some of the finest girls football teams like Kawempe Muslim Secondary School, Jinja SSS, and King of Kings from Fort-Portal, which, incidentally, is not so far away from Rwamwanja.
For certain, Nebatembe and company were second best against almost every opponent, then.
“Of course it was the first time we were really taking part in a football tournament. We could not match the quality of football that many other teams played. But we picked up lessons on what we needed to do. We just had to practice more to improve tactically and technically. The good thing we were still quite young, eager and capable of learning,” Nebatembe reasoned.
By then, Nebatembe was in Senior three, which was credit to her parents for ensuring that. But she was barely keeping up, especially because of how financially stressful it was on her parents.
Yet, because of how promising Nebatembe had proved during the Ticad Cup then, King of Kings High School spotted something in her. There was that hidden football talent that needed nurturing.
The School offered her a scholarship, saving her parents the worry of school fees. Her father, Justun Bahati said: “You cannot imagine how relieved I have been since my daughter was given a scholarship. Basically, the only thing I spend on is her books. Otherwise, the school has provided everything else that she needs, including what she eats while at school.”
Bahati attributes all this to the fact that his daughter was able to play in the Ticad Cup back in 2023. It was then that she was spotted to have a football talent. And without a doubt, being part of the King of Kings school football team, Nebatembe has improved tremendously.
It is evident that she has got good coaches, who have helped improve her football understanding. As an attacking midfielder, her ball control, dribbling and passing range are some of her finest attributes.
In fact, they make up for her diminutive structure. Nebatembe stands at 4feet. But her movement on and off the ball highlight the growing football brain in her. In addition, this has given her confidence, behind her infectious smile, when she speaks to the media.
When she speaks, she is not only measure. But exudes leadership. Now wonder, she was captain of the Rwamwanja refugee settlement team this year at the Ticad Cup. In fact, for the first time in the tournament’s history, Nebatembe inspired her team to a third-place finish, after they beat the more established Jinja SSS 4-3 on spot-kicks.
For Nebatembe, the success she is realizing in life simply because of being a footballer, has also been seen in her academics. Right now, Nebatembe is in Senior five, still on scholarship.
This was made easy by the fact that in her Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) Senior Four results last year, Nebatembe scored as follows: English (C), History (C), Geography (C), CRE (C), Math (C), Physics (C), Chemistry (B), Agriculture (B), Biology (C), Project (C), which was summarily a result one.
Nebatembe is one success story from the Ticad Cup. Yet, she is one of many others that have benefited from it as a platform for showcase one’s talent. But even more significantly, it has given her as a refugee girl, an opportunity to a bright future.
Geoffrey Andruga, the Pagirinya Refugee settlement coach said that just like Nebatembe, a host of the refugee girls, whose future seemed bleak, do not only look forward to the Ticad Cup to score goals and win.
But it has proved to be an opener for big prospects. From Andruga’s team last year, four of his twelve players from Pagirinya, had secured education scholarships. Who knows how many more may be secured this time, after Pagirinya, a team, which in its first appearance hardly had any sense about what a football shape was.
Yet, last weekend, in Njeru, Pagirinya (Adjumani district) reached the final, only to lose 0-1 to Jinja City Queens, a more adept footballing team. The one stand-out facet about Pagirinya is the defensive discipline they showcased. Back in 2022, they were losing games at a canter.
They were the whipping girls. But not anymore. They have come of age. The thought of the prizes, which included a full set of football jerseys being given by Jica to the refugee settlement teams that compete in the Ticad Cup has struck the right code among the refugee girls playing football.
While through the mingling and interaction, both the refugees and host community girls have learnt from each other, it was evident from events last weekend, that the refugee girls had learnt how to play football from the host community girls.
School teams like Kawempe Muslim SSS, Jinja SSS, King of Kings SS from Fort-Portal, and Rines SS from Wakiso previously gave the refugees’ teams a real hiding. Only three teams at the competition were not from refugee settlements.
These included Jinja City Queens (BUL FC’s women’s side), Jinja SSS and Jinja Progressive Academy, famously known as Jipra. The other five, including Palorinya, Rhino Camp, Pagirinya, Agojo, and Rwamwanja were all from refugee settlements, something impossible five years ago. Such is the significance of the Ticad Cup, whose purpose vehicle has been Jica!