Tuesday 10 March 2020, 12:08

A combination of creativity, unity and the spirit of Ubuntu

  • Global Goals World Cup aids implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • A GGWCup was held in Uganda on 8 March

  • Fan Movement member Diana Yonah was there to report on the event

Diana Yonah:

Not many people knew about this tournament, but sending a collective message is something that brings people together. For example, when you get the opportunity to play for Goal 1 – to end extreme poverty everywhere – many people will join a team to help eradicate poverty in the world in whatever way they can.

The Global Goals World Cup is a combination of creativity, unity and the spirit of Ubuntu [Editor’s note: Ubuntu is an African belief that we become what we are thanks to the people around us; that is, being aware of the impact others have on us ]. The only rule that has to be strictly observed is that only amateur players can take part.

This tournament aroused my interest when I realised that it reaches down to the grassroots to touch communities as well as women who have the talent but have never played, women who want to kick out diseases by playing football, and retired coaches and players who can still instil the community with skills they have spent years acquiring.

Everyone in society needs to try and implement these ambitious goals, and that’s why women of all ages are coming together for this one-day event to celebrate International Women’s Day while at the same time playing the sport they love, interacting with different people and having fun.

Global Goals World Cup (GGWCup) trivia

  • The event aims to inspire amateur athletes to become “world champions” of the United Nations’ 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development and drive progress and change in their own communities.

  • The GGWCup seeks to use the universal power of football to inspire and unite people and to harness this power to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

  • A GGWCup is a five-a-side football tournament for women. The events should also help drive forward the gender equality agenda.

  • To qualify, teams must identify one of the United Nations’ 17 Global Goals and take steps to implement it.

Once I set foot in Uganda, my first port of call was to watch a team of grandmothers play a friendly match against young, energetic women from the Uganda Football Association. The grannies were up to the task and I have to say that they were on another level. From the fans cheering them on to the game that they played, you simply had to love them.

Former Uganda Sea Cranes coach Majida Nantanda was also more than happy with the event. "The impact of this is just brilliant because it tells women from all walks of life that they can still play football. I grew up in a community where football was only for boys not girls, but things have changed," Nantanda added.

Teams and awards

  • Deaf Starlets: Formed a team to show that disability does not mean inability.

  • Soccer Divas from Kenya: Dorcas Kero knows how to impress, even with only one hand.

  • Teams also included migrants, journalists, grandmothers and former players.

  • Overall GGWCup champion: Team Hearts Vision (Goal 4: Quality Education)

  • Second place: Team Abigails Grandmaz (Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth)

  • Action champions: Team FUFA Queens (Goal 5: Gender Equality).

  • Style champions: Team SUYAWI, (Goal 1: No Poverty)

  • Crowd champions: Team Waving Flags from Soccer without Borders (Goal 5: Gender Equality)

  • Football champions: Team KCCA FC (Goal 1: No Poverty)