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Naguru Infant, St. Jude top UHA Minors' Cup
A lot to learn. Pupils from Spring of Grace Elementary School, Entebbe put their sticks down to defend a long corner. PHOTOS/MAKHTUM MUZIRANSA
What you need to know:
Naguru Infant School, steered by Yusuf Danken, continued to show they are a hockey talent production line as they edged East Kololo 3-0 in the boys’ final
Over 100 children participated in the 2024 hockey Minors’ Cup held recently in Lugogo.
The competition was held under the Uganda Hockey Association’s Talent Identification and Development (TID) programme – for which they have won a couple of awards from Africa Hockey Federation (AfHF).
But it was also mainly pushed by the presence of Hockey Dreams Foundation (HDF) activities in the various schools.
“For us it was a great tournament and we can hopefully have it every year,” Martin Okello, one of the HDF coaches and also a member of UHA’s executive committee, said.
Worth it. The Bright School beat St. Jude in shootouts to win the girls' final.
UHA, “however,” according to general secretary Stanley Tamale, “continue to have different activities for children under the various academies and schools.”
In March, HDF held their Fair Play Tournament that attracted five schools. These formed the base for the Minors’ Cup, which had 13 teams participating in the boys and girls’ categories.
Spring of Grace Elementary School, from Entebbe, were the new surprises with complete novices in the game.
“I warned the children and parents that we would get a baptism by fire in this tournament but we are sure it will lead to tremendous improvement over the next course of the year,” coach Emmanuel Isyagi, said.
Triumphant. Pupils of Naguru Infant celebrate their hockey Minors Cup win in the boys' category in Lugogo.
Naguru Infant School, steered by Yusuf Danken, continued to show they are a hockey talent production line as they edged East Kololo 3-0 in the boys’ final
The Bright School from Kawempe, drew 1-1 with St. Jude Naguru in the girls’ final but the former won 2-1 in the shootouts.
Finals
B: Naguru Infant 3-0 East Kololo
G: Bright School 1(2)-1(1) St. Jude
MVPs
Osman Amani (East Kololo)
Top Scorers
Yusuf Danken (Naguru Infant) – 9 goals
Participating Schools
St. Jude P/S
Naguru Infant P/S
Hill Preparatory
East Kololo P/S
Handa for Hope P/S
The Bright School
Spring of Grace Elementary
