Former Uganda Cranes star Godfrey Walusimbi has commended the Sports Association of Ugandans in North America (SAUNA) for championing talent development in schools and local communities.

“I commend SAUNA and Motherwell Schools for this initiative. This is what we need in Uganda. We need to develop young talent to feed the national teams,” Walusimbi stated.

He challenged parents to support their children in their sporting careers.

Walusimbi was speaking to parents and children during the closure of the ten-day SAUNA-Motherwell ‘summer sports camp’ for holiday makers aged 6-14 years on December 13, 2024.

Directors of the Sports Association of Ugandans in North America (SAUNA) Fred Kaweesi, Laurian Lubulwa and Moses Kabugo and a team from Motherwell schools presided over the closing ceremony.

“I call on the parents to support their children because it is them that are in charge of them currently,” he stated.

“When a parent is around when his or her child is doing sports, they are going to be fired up and enthused to impress,” he said.

Walusimbi represented the national team in 105 international matches. He is best remembered for defending very well against Liverpool star striker Mohammad Salah during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Salah came with the Egypt team at Namboole and Walusimbi dealt with him very well as Uganda Cranes beat Egypt 1-0. Salah had no impact.

Kaweesi pointed that the initiative falls within the association’s ambitions of finding a mechanism for developing talent at an early stage.

“It is one thing to identify talent but another to nurture and develop it. We have a four-year development strategy in place for young talent and we are glad to have partnered with Motherwell Schools to champion this agenda,” he said.

“We are confident that the products from our schools holiday camps will be ready for elite football in Uganda, Canada and United States of America.”

SAUNA acknowledges the critical role of young people in fostering creative and innovative solutions to current challenges, and in driving positive social change.

Our association rolls out activities that incorporate young people and empowers them to participate fully in promoting particular values in their communities. While utilizing sports as a platform, SAUNA supports youth development through physical education, physical activity, and career development.

The camp was aimed at sharpening the youngsters’ skills in football, volleyball, netball and the woodball sport.

Walusimbi hailed the initiative fronted by SAUNA.

“This initiative is a timely intervention because first of all the children in the locality and from the school are going to benefit,” Walusimbi stated.

Physical activity is vital to the holistic development of young people, fostering their physical, social and emotional health. The benefits of sport reach beyond the impact on physical well-being and the value of the educational benefits of sport should not be under-estimated.

It’s against this background that SAUNA joined hands with Motherwell Sports Academy to organize a summer sports camp that will give holidaymakers (aged 6-14) a chance to improve their talent and life skills.

Director of Motherwell schools Mark Kayongo thanked parents for supporting their children.

“We want the kids to learn many skills as we prepare them for their future job environments which remains a complex environment,” Kayongo stated.

“We want to produce children who are multi-skilled and talented because that is what the world requires of them,”. Sixty children participated in the inaugural training camp.

Similar camps will be organized during school holidays.