The KJT International Supporters’ Club is blogging once again, with apologies for the overlong break in service.
HERE IS THE NEWS
Gosh, it’s two years since I last made an entry, when I last wrote the Under 16s were on their way to play in the Norway Cup. There they outperformed many of the best youth football clubs from all over the world, with scorelines such as 9 – 0 ! However they lost in the quarter finals to the eventual tournament winners, a team from Mexico (the name evades me, but I’ll find it again)
Since then we (myself and my daughters) have kept in touch with the team members and Coach Kabugo, although we haven’t yet been able to meet in person again we have nonetheless become firm friends. It may be a cliche but it’s true to say that it feels like family.
THE GOTHIA CUP
18th – 25th July 2011
I’m very pleased and genuinely excited to say that the KJT Boys’ Under 14 Team are currently in Sweden for the Gothia Cup, ” The world’s largest and most international youth football tournament ” where their campaign starts today, July 18th, at 1300 local time. I’ll be helped to keep you informed by the team striker, Joel, who will be joining me as co-editor on his (I believe triumphant) return to Uganda. Meanwhile the team have already won a ‘warm up’ tournament in the week since they’ve been there, so they already have a cup to bring home!
Kampala Junior Team Under 14s
A FEW WORDS
I want to say a few words about what I’ve learned through getting to know the team, about what a difference these extraordinarily talented and dedicated young people make to the lives of their friends and others in the slums, on the streets, and in the impoverished countryside of Uganda. Most of the team, including Coach Kabugo and the boys he shelters and cares for, themselves go home after tournaments to slum shacks and often cannot afford second-hand shoes or school fees. Yet they have the strength of spirit, the ability, and the commitment to succeed against all the odds, and perhaps more importantly they have a real commitment to each other. What they give back to the extended family of all their members, supporters, and most importantly their neighbours and communities, is more than just pride, more than focusing the attention of government and funders on Kisenyi Slum, or the attention of professional clubs on the young players. It’s proof that social or economic status defines no-one, that if we believe in our dreams and work at them, together we change our lives. Let me try to put it in a single phrase, ‘ To aspire is to inspire ! ‘ I think that sums it up.
