There is a specific, sharp smell of damp grass and lake breeze that hangs over the fields in Entebbe. It’s the kind of air that makes you want to lace up a pair of boots, and that’s exactly where Benjamin Ochan finds himself these days. The former Uganda Cranes goalkeeper isn’t resting on his laurels after his playing career; instead, he’s hunkered down at Victoria High School in Katabi, building something he hopes will last. Since January, the Play On Foundation Football Academy has been taking shape under his watch.
Ochan’s path here wasn’t exactly linear. He grew up through the ranks of the Kampala Kids League and Friends of Football, environments that were fairly balanced, but his perspective shifted hard after a chance meeting at a local landing site near Lake Victoria. He ran into a 16-year-old girl who was already raising two kids on her own. It was a heavy moment—one of those stories that stays with you—and it pushed him to stop thinking about just training boys and start focusing on the girl child.
“I am determined to use football to create a safer and more promising future for many girls,” Ochan told Misryoum. It is a big ambition. He is currently working out of Victoria High, a school that feels like a good fit given their existing focus on sports like rugby and netball. Honestly, the girls’ football side of things had been pretty much ignored there until now. But it’s changing.
Now three months in, the project is picking up speed. You can see it on the pitch—girls from nearby schools are showing up for trials, and there is a noticeable hunger in how they move. It’s not just about the game, though. Ochan wants these kids to have life skills, maybe even find a spark like Dorcus Inzikuru did on the track. If a few make it to the top level, that’s great, but it’s more about the broader impact on the community. Or maybe it’s just about giving them a space to be competitive. Actually, it’s a bit of both.
Robert Ngudo, the school director, seems genuinely invested, noting that they needed Ochan’s professional experience to really push the program forward. The girls feel it too. Take Fatuma Kasule, who used to just kick a ball around with her brothers—she’s now looking at a potential path to the national team. Another player, Joy Nanyonyo, is dead set on channeling her inner Kylian Mbappé in the number 10 role. It’s funny how quickly these things catch on once the door is opened.
It isn’t all just drills and tactics, though. The physicality of football has clearly changed the way some of the girls carry themselves, especially those like Shanita Namusuubo who traded the netball court for the pitch. She says she doesn’t fear anything anymore. That’s probably the most important win for Ochan, who is also quietly nudging his fellow retired players to get off the couch and get involved. He argues it keeps everyone connected and, frankly, out of the sort of trouble that can find former athletes once the stadium lights go out for the last time. He’s just trying to keep the momentum going.