American Football plans to start mini league
Jan 29, 2020
In Uganda Kyambogo, Makerere and Lira University are on board with learning the sport
Capacity building is the biggest focus of 2020 as the American Football Federation of Uganda (AFFU) looks towards starting a mini league in the middle of this year.
"We are focusing so much on capacity building with the coaches. Right now we do not have the right personnel to grow the sport. So we have planned football camps where we have people coming in from the USA, Sweden and Belgium to coach," AFFU President George Okeng said.
The intention of these projects is to ensure that a mini league consisting of six teams can start with focus being on Kyambogo University.
"We intend to start a mini league of about six teams that we hope to see play every weekend and our timeline is the middle of the year because we know that that is when our pitch will be ready," he explained.
American Football for African Mission Secretary General Chris Yodes. Photo by Michael Nsubuga
Kyambogo has offered the sport one of its pitches and it's here that Uganda's first American football pitch will be built. The federation is actively seeking schools and institutions because the opportunities are simply immense for both parties.
"We as a federation are looking at the grassroots which is why we're selling the sport to schools. The sport has no age limit and is very focused on safety with players needing helmets and other gear to assure their safety."
In Uganda Kyambogo, Makerere and Lira University are on board with learning the sport but currently some international schools like Galaxy International, Kampala International School of Uganda and Acorn, GEMS Cambridge have all come on board according to Okeng.
Amadi Chukwuemeka, head of the American Football For African Mission. Photo by Michael Nsubuga
Kyambogos' willingness to enable the sport has created a partnership with impressive institutions like the Oklahoma University that will give the best students a chance to play and study should they excel.
This grand opportunity has already piqued the interest of a number of players from other disciplines.
"We are not going to pick players from particular sports but it's open to everyone although we have had players switching from rugby to football," Okeng explained.
The move comes as no surprise as rugby players have been known to switch to the NFL most recently with former England player Christian Wade switching to the Buffalo Bills as a running back.