There is no doubt that every year, Uganda produces a number of young players that come with promise and hope to attain their dream of playing the beautiful game to the highest levels. Whereas many live and play here, some seek for greener pastures abroad in a bid to become better players.
Gadhafi Ssemanda is one of the Ugandan footballers living in the diaspora and has not gotten the chance to get known by the football fraternity. Perhaps, his elder brother Gadhafi Kiwanuka would easily cross many people’s minds given his breakthrough at KCCA FC between 2013-2015.
Currently based in the Netherlands, Ssemanda plays for RKVV SDO Bussum in the Hoofdklasse, the fifth tier of Dutch football. He was born in Uganda to the late Musa Semanda and Sifa Namukasa and spent most of his childhood in Mbarara town.
He attained his early education at Bishop Stuart Primary School before joining Mbarara SS for Secondary School education. From here he moved to a number of schools including Mboma High School, Masaka SS, Gadhafi Integrated Academy in Kawempe and Matugga Mixed where he sat his UACE examinations.
Like many Ugandan kids who love to play football at a tender age but always discouraged by their parents who think education is more important, Ssemanda always found trouble but he insisted to push on with his talent.
“Like so many Ugandan kids, my parents wanted me to concentrate on studying and tried to push me away from sports but I had a special like for kicking the ball. I used to play with my friends and big brother Gadhafi Kiwanuka around the neighborhood and never thought I would take up football when I grew older. As my parents tried to stop me from playing, there was a coach called Faizo who would insist that I should try the game because he thought I was talented. Through the hardships of my parents not wanting me to play, I forced my way into the school team at my Primary School-Bishop Stuart and that is where I shaped my game,” says Ssemanda.
At a tender age, Ssemanda impressed many coaches and he joined Kampala Kids League (KKL) before moving Kampala Junior Team (KJT) later on. At KKL, he featured in various youth camps/ tournaments including the famous City Tyres U14 tournament.
How Ssemanda moved abroad
From KKL, the right-footed winger crossed over to KJT where his elder brother Kiwanuka had also featured. Towards the end of 2014, he secured a move to Spain through KJT landing trials with Spanish La Liga outfit Girona FC.
“It came in late 2014 and I spent the rest of the 2014/15 season with them. I stayed there until 2016 training but never featured in the first team.” Ssemanda recalls.
From Girona FC, Ssemanda joined Dutch side ADO Den Haag where he had successful trials but only featured for their reserve team during the 2016/17 campaign. He was there for just one season before moving to Heracles Almelo
“At that time, they(Heracles) were playing in the Hoofdklasse and it is where I finally got playing time. My experiences at Girona and Den Haag helped me so much as I immediately secured a first-team spot at Heracles and became a key figure in the team. I spent two seasons before joining SDO Bussum where I play currently.”
Playing for the national team
It is every player’s dream to play for the national team and Ssemanda hopes he will one day feature for the Uganda Cranes.
“That is my ambition because featuring for the national team means a lot to a player and I keep working hard to make sure the dream comes true.”
“I have followed the Cranes in their recent engagements and I must say there is a lot of quality in those players. I played with Moses Waiswa at KJT and when I saw him playing for the national team, I was happy and this pushed me to work harder.”
Ssemanda’s Profile
Name: Gadhafi Ssemanda
Place of Birth: Mulago, Kampala
Parents: The late Musa Ssemanda and Sifa Namukasa
Education: Bishop Stuart Primary School, Mbarara SS, Mboma High School, Masaka SS, Gadhafi Integrated Academy and Matugga Mixed School
Clubs played for: Girona FC, Ado Den Haag, Heracles, SDO Bussum
