Reds versus blues
on Um Zayd wa Atheer (Uganda), 06/Aug/2010 17:52, 34 days ago
Written 2 weeks agoFRIDAYIt's 8pm on a Friday evening and I am 100% bushed. I have just got back after spending an afternoon at a football match ie from 1pm. This is was at Kinuumi Primary School ground, venue for the Miirya Village Volunteer Project Tournament. I am wondering if this is how the boys feel after an afternoon at Old Trafford or Anfield? Tired, even exhausted, wet, hungry, excited and generally happy. This particular moment of madness started on Tuesday when a volunteer from Kinuumi said how keen his village was to play football. Without hesitating the words left my lips, "Let's have a football tournament between the 4 Young Men's Health Clubs". From there the event snowballed.With only 4 teams taking part I thought it would all be quite simple. The plan was that the first round would take place today and the 2 winners would go forward to the final on Sunday. I never expected to generate so much excitement into the lives of 4 very remote villages in rural Africa.Let me set the scene. Most village football pitches are in school compounds. The grass is rarely cut and even then by waves of young children swinging blades called pangas. The goal posts are made from branches of trees, there are no lines marking the pitch, even the centre spot is guesswork. Today the ball was deemed to be out of play by the field of sugar cane to one side and the road to the other and the crowd of spectators behind each goal. Anthills add to the challenge.The players from the 4 teams arrived in a jumble of attire, mostly barefooted but I was pleased to see them wearing their coloured tabards that I had given them last year. Some wore shorts whilst other had pink pyjama bottoms, jeans and underpants. Most had loose elastic and more was exposed than should have been. On one occasion I had to run off to the 'spares' box to find a pair of shorts for the owner of one very bare bottom!All in all it has been a wonderful afternoon. After a short talk, 'Young, Empowered and Healthy' the first of the 2 matches kicked off, encouragingly for Africa only 30 minutes late. The youth of Kahara got off to a good start but Kigezi came back hitting the cross bar in the final minutes. The final score was 4-3 and the supporters loved every minute. Injuries were minor. The second game was between Rwemigali and Kinuumi. It was still 0-0 at half time and every one was getting anxious about penalty shootouts. Suddenly fortunes changed and Rwemigali scored twice. As the tropical rains came they slid and challenged with confidence whilst Kinuumi became dispirited. We had our 2 teams for the final on Sunday, Rwemigali and Kahara. We had one major casualty as one young man was kicked in the chest and stopped breathing. In the recovery position we worked on him. Not quite St John's technique but it worked. He later needed hospital treatment but I could have done just as well with my First Aid know how! He's still alive!SUNDAYWe arrived late but early compared to everyone else. When a function is arranged and you arrive at a deserted ground it is more than a sinking feeling. I should know better by now. No need for panic, it will happen, eventually.Three pm became 4 pm. Team photos were taken, rules discussed and the whistle blown. Having had 2 sons I am quite keen on football so enjoyed some good play. Some of the players seem to have passed the flush of youth but who am I to argue who is over 24? Bare feet against proper football boots didn't seem fair but no one else was complaining. Shins were whacked, toes trodden on and heads butted but no time was wasted on injuries. The game was too important. About 400 spectators had turned up to support their teams or from neighbouring villages in search of some excitement. They got it in plenty!After 90 minutes the score was 0-0 and as black clouds gathered both teams opted for penalty shootouts. The crowd became a mob and difficult to control. I worried more than most but again unnecessarily. Ten minutes later we had a winner, Kahara. Frankly it was all a blur and I was just glad it was all over. Prizes were given, everybody had something and I was just glad to come home to something strong. I was asked could we repeat this in 3 months time. The answer was a definite NO!