Queens Park Rangers (QPR) ladies football club midfielder cum defender Jean Seninde has visited four football academies based in Entebbe, Uganda at the Lake side Katabi Gombolola play ground.
At least 150 young aspiring footballers from Lake Victoria Sports Academy, Sure Prospects Sports Academy, Mivule Forest Academy and Taggy Girls school Academy benefited from Seninde’s rich demonstrations, life skills and motivational talk sessions.
Seninde was accompanied by the Uganda national women head coach, Majidah Nantanda as they encouraged the youngsters to take the beautiful game as serious as possible.
In her brief but eloquent address to the young players, a confident Seninde noted;
I want to empower young girls to continue playing football as they polish their talent. We all started from scratches.
Majority of the young players are talented and they can make it to the national league level, national team and who knows? One time, we shall qualify for the Africa Women Nations tournament and the FIFA Women World Cup
Nantanda was equally delighted about the response from the players with a special call for continued training.
Seninde visited these academies to continue encouraging the young players as we unearth new talents and polish those existing.
Upon that background, there is an upcoming women football tournament called the Jean Seninde Development Cup that will start soon in Kampala.
Non exposed women footballers will take part in this one day gala whose venue is tentatively at Villa Park, Nsambya in Kampala.
Seninde was part of the Uganda She Cranes team that finished fourth at the 2016 CECAFA Women championship held at the FUFA Technical Center in Njeru. She is among the few women professional footballers in the country.
One of the young girls, Prossie Nantume, aged 15, who attended the demonstration was glad she met Jean whom she was following in the media.
Nantume, an S.2 student at Taggy Girls School in Entebbe remarked;
I want to be like Jean Seninde when I grow up. I also want to play professional football like her and be with the discipline she has.
At Katabi, local coaches Allan Kabonge Kivewala, Steven Kintu Ferguson and coordinator Kim Walusimbi also attended.
