Following the Impact of the International Sport Connection: Friday Night Lights In Kampala Uganda

The International Sport Connection visited the exciting Friday Night Lights Basketball League action at the Kampala YMCA in September of 2012.  Many of the coaches and players who had attended the 2012 International Sport Connection Basketball Coach Training were playing, coaching, and cheering on the basketball action run by the Federation of Uganda Basketball Associations.  The Assistant Director for the International Sport Connection, Lisa Berg, attended the game and interviewed coaches who she had trained earlier in the year.

Coach Timothy Odeke, who visited the United States in February 2012 as part of the International Sport Connection International Exchange, was happy to see the American Instructor who taught over 200 youth basketball coaches in May of 2012 alongside other American and Ugandan Instructors.  Odeke explained, 

“the International Sport Connection has done so much for Uganda.  They spent time at the grassroot level helping coaches and future coaches learn basics that will help young players and everyone in our communities.  We are thankful for ISC and the American people for coming to Uganda and we hope the programs continue to come back to our country.”

During the rest of the evening, local Ugandan rap artists filled the outdoor stadium with music at halftime and many friends from the International Sport Connection reunited.  ISC coaches leaned over their players whispering plays and shouting words of encouragement.

    

The league, that is run by FUBA and sponsored by Airtel Telecom, hosts a women’s game and a men’s game at night under the lights.  The American Lisa Berg was in the city learning about the impact that the International Sport Connection Program had on the basketball community in Uganda and she scouted for new coaches for their upcoming May 2013 Basketball Coach Training Program. Berg, the Assistant Director of the International Sport Connection, described the evening by saying,

"it is amazing to see the coaches we have trained through the International Sport Connection having a direct impact on their community.  This program as not only brought Ugandans together, it has also had an impact on the relationships between Ugandans and Americans.  Sport is bringing us together in a world that often can divide us."