The breeze off Lake Victoria doesn’t just ripple the water; it carries the sharp, rhythmic snap of a shuttlecock cutting through the open air. Down on the white sands of Entebbe’s Aero Beach, the stage is set. Fourteen nations, over one hundred and twenty athletes and for Uganda, a legacy waiting to be protected.
“We can say we are ready,” Simon Mugabi declares, looking out over the preparations. “It is a big thing, so it is going to be bigger and bigger.”
The numbers tell a story of explosive growth for a sport born out of a desire to take badminton beyond the four walls of an indoor hall. When the inaugural Africa AirBadminton Championship kicked off in Mauritius just a couple of years ago, six countries answered the call.
Last year, Ghana welcomed eleven. Now, fourteen flags wave across the Ugandan shoreline: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Egypt, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, all descending upon Entebbe for a tournament running from September 16 to 19.
For Uganda, this homecoming carries a special weight. The red, yellow, and black missed the trip to Ghana last year, where Egypt ultimately outlasted Nigeria to claim the crown, but the local faithful still remember the fairy-tale eruption of Mauritius in 2024.
Back then, the team arrived as wide-eyed newcomers, having learned the quirks of the outdoor format and its unforgiving rules mere weeks before stepping onto the sand.
Yet, guided by coach William Kabindi, they turned raw instinct into pure gold. They didn’t just win; they stunned the continent. They swept past Comoros in a 60-8 rout, gutted out nail-biting finishes against hosts Mauritius (60-57) and South Africa (60-58), and sealed their championship triumph with a 60-47 victory over Tunisia.
Augustus Owinyi, Muzafaru Lubega, Olivia Nakajja, Malha Musa, Sharifah Mbabazi, and Fred Kadoli etched their names into history, backed by a golden performance in the Women’s Triple and a silver in the Men’s.
That was then; the element of surprise is a luxury long since spent.
“It is now two years, so people have been training,” Mugabi acknowledges, a knowing smile betraying the gravity of the challenge. “I know they are going to perform better because others have been preparing for them.”
Behind closed gates at Mbogo High School, coach Kabindi has been sharpening the edges of his squad. Out of the intense trials, an elite eight has emerged, four men and four women, dictated by the strict structural demands of AirBadminton’s continental team format. It is a battlefield of doubles and triples, where individual brilliance must dissolve into collective synergy.
Lubega returns to anchor the men’s side, while Gladys Mbabazi and Nakajja bring vital veteran poise to the women. With three players carrying the sacred memory of that Mauritius triumph, Uganda possesses a core of hard-earned continental experience.
Yet, the environment is radically different from the quiet hum of an indoor gymnasium. AirBadminton is built for the elements and designed to be played on grass, concrete, or sand, mirroring the beloved spectacles of beach soccer and beach volleyball.
But here on the shores of Entebbe, it is the shifting sand beneath the feet and the unpredictable gusts of Lake Victoria that become silent players in every match. Even the shuttlecock is an engineering marvel, specially weighted to defy the wind.
For Mugabi, taking the game to the beach is about more than just medals; it is about pulse and proximity. “People go for enjoyment, so it can attract many people to see how the sport is [played],” he says, throwing an open invitation to sports lovers across the country to make the journey down to Entebbe and fill the sidelines with home-soil roars.
The prize waiting at the end of this sandy gauntlet stretches far beyond regional glory. This championship is the ultimate crucible, a qualifier for the global stage, where the top two teams from the continent punch their tickets to the world championships. Uganda watched from the sidelines last year as Egypt and Nigeria claimed those coveted slots.
Now, the equation has changed. Home advantage is in their hands. A familiar, battle-tested core is ready. But the hunters are circling, the field is deeper, and the target on Uganda’s back has never been larger.
Mugabi doesn’t flinch at the pressure. The sand is raked, the lines are drawn, and the breeze is blowing.
“Preparations are well,” he says simply, “and we are going to have the best championships in Africa.”