The joyous life of playing hockey in Uganda

The Hockey Paper has been taken in by Weatherhead HC in Uganda for their evocative and colourful portrayal of the game on social media.

Here, Ashraf Tumwesigye, of the Kampala-based club, tells his story after taking up the game a decade ago.

I first started to play hockey in 2011 when I was 13, staying with my family in Naguru. 

Currently I am staying in Mbuya, a Kampala city suburb, which is around four kilometres away from the National Hockey Stadium. 

Nobody in my family had ever played any sport before. My father never wanted me to play. He wanted me to study hard, find a good job and settle. But because of my persistence and consistency in the sport, I overcame the obstacle. 

Hockey in Uganda is driven by the daily love and passion of the participants. It has created a conducive atmosphere for us all. With my regime on the national team, we have been winners since our first engagement in 2018 in western kenya where we emerged winners and the recent Test series in Nairobi where we beat Kenya after a long bus journey from Kampala. 

It was a great,  joyous and awesome bus journey to Kampala after securing victory over the Kenyans, who have dominated for more than 30 years.

We also now have an Italian coach, Francesco Richichi, who trains our national teams, although he wasn’t physically with us during the previous Test series.

Overall, it really is a great pleasure to play with Weatherhead Hockey Club before and during these difficult times over the last 18 months during the pandemic, who have been supportive in various ways. I have kept my head high. 

I have never regretted being a hockey player, regardless of the non-supportive government to our sport in particular, because I believe one day I will go for professional play and will make ends meet.