Lady Rugby Cranes Sevens and Black Pearls forward, Lydia Namabiro, attributes her ForteBet Real Stars Sports Monthly award win to her coaches and teammates, having guided the national side to gold at the All-Africa Games last month in Accra, Ghana. Namabiro saw off competition from Rugby Sevens winger Norbert Okeny and Lady Rugby Sevens captain Peace Lekuru to win the gong at a ceremony held today in Lugogo.
Contributing six tries to ensure the Lady Rugby Cranes Sevens went unbeaten, Namabiro reflects on her performance, stating, “Handling girls is not easy, but the coaches have managed. Rugby is not a personal sport, so without my teammates, I cannot do it.”
Namabiro, who traces her roots back to Jinja where she was first introduced to rugby in 2012 at Police Teargas Rangers before eventually joining the Black Pearls in 2019, reflects on her journey, “My sports teacher Walter Kayima introduced me to rugby, and that’s how I started. He used to train us, and it was not easy in the beginning, but then I managed to pick up since I was motivated by him.”
Uganda Hippos midfielder Hakim Mutebi, who won the football accolade, was elated following his win after scoring a goal in Uganda’s 4-2 comeback win over Congo Brazzaville to see the Hippos finish second at the African Games. “I would like to thank the ForteBet awards for honoring our efforts and also FUFA for giving us an opportunity as youth players to showcase our talents. I promise to keep up the good performance,” Mutebi noted.
African Games badminton gold medalist Husnah Kobugabe and weightlifter Davis Niyoyita, who won two silver and two bronze, were the other winners.
Real Stars Sports agency CEO Isaac Mukasa looks back on the March awards, saying, “It has been a nice edition, and this was the third of the year because we were recognizing the best in March. We had four disciplines this time round, and unfortunately, the All-Africa Games badminton gold medalist Kobugabe and Niyoyita were away as they seek Olympics qualification points,” Mukasa stated.
The ForteBet Real Stars Sports Monthly awards aim to recognize and celebrate outstanding sportsmen.
