Nantanda relishing in her dream to empower women through football

By Andrew Mwanguhya, The Daily Monitor March 04, 2015

She is neither intimidated by the piercing eyes as she makes her way up the stairs of a coffee shop at Game, Lugogo nor is she bothered by the egos that dominate the sport she chose to pursue.

Majidah Nantanda not only chose to play it. She played it to the point of captaining the national women’s football team – the Crested Cranes – for five years; and coaching it.

The 33-year-old knew in her early teens it was football she wanted to play, and it never occurred to her that it was a predominantly ‘male’ sport.

“I grew up knowing football was for all,” she enthuses to Daily Monitor at the coffee shop table; her trademark smile giving way.

Family team
“Although my mother would at times discipline me and my brothers for playing too much football, she never told me that ‘because you are a girl, you should not play football.’

“Actually I got inspiration from my brothers (four). I used to play with them at home in Makindye.

“There were days when other boys would refuse to have me (a girl) on their teams but the moment I played, the next day all teams wanted me. They even started making me captain.”

Nantanda, knew that right midfield was her best position. When girls were called from the different self-styled clubs in Mbale, Entebbe and Kampala to prepare for a friendly against Kenya in 1998, Nantanda, went to the camp.

“Coach Paul Ssali (Crested Cranes coach then) asked me which position I played,” she says, “I told him nsamba musanvu (I play number seven)”

Number seven tale
Unknown to Nantanda, the right midfield ‘belonged’ to the untouchable Oliver Mbekeka, the captain. “The coaches and girls around whispered: ‘That one will never play football.’ “I eventually missed the final list to Nairobi but Mama Baker (Crested Cranes coordinator then) called me to the side and asked: ‘Can’t you think of any other number?’ I said no.

“But she told me to continue training and come back after two weeks when the team has returned from Nairobi.”

Mama Baker played a key role in the development of women football in Uganda and is credited for having started the Kampala Women team.

Mbekeka had also sought her out about her preferred position and the skipper had advised Majidah to continue training as she waited for them to return from Nairobi.

Majidah did as asked. She was given a role in her proffered position in the return leg, with Mbekeka moving forward.

The rest is history.
Before meeting Daily Monitor, Majidah had just met a team from the Cable News Network (CNN), who are in the country to film her for the African Voices programme.

She talks about her competitive debut for Uganda in the 1998 Africa Women Championships qualifiers against Egypt, and a missed opportunity to go professional.