Senior presidential advisor on gender and youth affairs Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi has revealed how she shattered the glass ceiling in the Ugandan football administration.

Nakiwala, who doubles as the third vice-president of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), was named chairperson of Express FC on June 6, 2016, coinciding with her appointment as youth and children affairs state minister.

She resigned as chairperson of Express aka the Red Eagles after about 18 months.

Senior presidential advisor on gender and youth affairs Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi with former UIA Dr Margaret Kigozi at Vision Group Head offices in Kampala. Photos by Jimmy Outa

Nakiwala said her sports history started way back in Kagogo village, Kibinge sub-county, Bukomansimbi district, where she comes from and where former SC Villa president Patrick Kawooya was buried 27 years ago.

“That village was kind of known as the Villa village and I was thinking: How can we all be Balkanised in following someone and (yet) there are many teams across the board? So, when I was a minister in Buganda Kingdom (for 13 years), I realised that Buganda was accredited to Express FC and I was the first secretary of the Bika bya Baganda soccer committee,” she says.

When she became the secretary of the Bika bya Baganda soccer committee, her ambition was to become the head of Express FC and challenge the supremacy of Kawooya in Kagogo village.

“Then I said ‘I want to go up the ladder (of Express FC) so that my village can now be known as the Express Village and not the Villa village’. It was a bit mean but we had that competition (with SC Villa), which is natural and healthy,” Nakiwala stated.

She made the remarks on March 11, 2023, while appearing on the weekly Urban TV morning talk-show, Press Wall.

Others who featured on the show to look at Uganda’s progress toward economic gender parity were the former executive director of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Dr Margaret Kigozi, and the National Resistance Movement Women's League national chairperson, Lydia Wanyoto.

Nakiwala rose through the ranks of the club to become the head of Express, which was a historic feat, considering that she was the first woman to occupy that seat.

“It was the first time a woman was heading this club in the history of the country since 1954 because it has all been headed by men. So I became a big deal and did a very big bash in Wankulukuku (Express FC’s home ground),” she said.

Appointing Bobi Wine 

Nakiwala then appointed prominent figures including musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine to serve on the Express FC board to grow the club image, get corporate entities on board and forget the past club wrangles.

Her star also shone through FUFA to be elected as the first vice-president of the federation, which was again a historic feat.

"I was the first woman in the history of the country to hold that position because the rest were men. In fact, it was a big deal,” Nakiwala said.

She was voted the third vice president of FUFA in August 2017 beating Jinja S.S headmistress Diana Hope Nyago by four votes when she garnered 10 against six votes.

She said that she proved her critics such as Aldrine Nsubuga (columnist) wrong.

“People like Aldrine [Nsubuga] were writing about me saying: Can a female make it? Let's see how she will take off and all those things. So, I started standardising this club (Express) and to agitate for women to be seen to play football,” Nakiwala said.

She said FUFA president Eng. Moses Magogo was a tower of strength to them when they assumed office.

“Eng. Magogo is this kind of person who ventures into the unknown and so at that point in time, he told us it’s possible and then I started leading all these delegations across the country. I have been the chairperson of CECAFA (Senior Women’s Championship local organising committee) for all these runnings until today,” she said.

Nakiwala also said when she campaigned across the country to become FUFA vice-president, she found it easy.

“So, we started thinking that yes, when a woman is there, it is mobilisation in nature and commitment in character. I, therefore, started going up the radar. We were two women at the national level. At the African level, we were also two because there are few women in Africa (heading federations of their countries),” she said.

Nakiwala also recalled that whenever she would go to international fora, she would easily be noticed.

Her rise through the ranks of Express FC and FUFA made her an inspiration to many girls and women.

“I started wooing my fellow women to also allow their daughters to play football like Jean Namayega Sseninde (the daughter of former Wakiso Woman MP Rose Sseninde) who is at the global level, but the parents traditionally had not heard about it: My daughter in school playing men’s football? It was a kind of a no-go area,” Nakiwala said.

According to her, currently, they have over 5,000 registered female players in the country compared to the 50,000 male ones. 

"But now we have 13 leagues and almost a big number is for women. FUFA has 62 workers just like the National Council (of Sports), but 50% are women,” she said.

Asked how she manages to do the “juggling”, Nakiwala said: “I think it is a discipline that I know that I can. There is no day I think that I will have a problem; that you will not like me when you see me, or when I feel that I will not be appointed… By nature, a woman is meant to multitask".