By Amos Otok
Kole, Uganda | Cheers and ululations filled Alito Town Council on Sunday as players from Owanadilo Women FC received a set of 37 new jerseys, the latest donation in a wave of sports support sweeping across the Lango Sub-region.
The kits were delivered by the Imat Cecilia Ogwal Foundation in partnership with KitAid, a UK-based charity that recycles once-loved football kits and distributes them to underprivileged children and adults across some of the world’s poorest countries.
For many players, it was the first time to own a full team kit.
“You can see the joy on their faces. This is more than cloth — it’s dignity, it’s motivation,” said a team official at the handover.
Speaking at the event, Kole North MP Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti pledged his full commitment to women’s football development in Lango and Uganda.
“We must invest in our girls. Talent is here, but opportunity has been missing. Today we close that gap,” he said.
The donations honor the legacy of the late Hon. Cecilia Atim Ogwal, former Dokolo District Woman MP.
Her daughter, Dr. Rosemary Alwoc Ogwal, Founding Director of the Foundation, said the initiative aims to strengthen sporting activities across Lango as her mother envisioned.
“This is the legacy Mama set — empowering communities through sports. Football brings people together, keeps youth engaged, and builds leaders,” Dr. Alwoc noted.
The Foundation’s outreach is growing. It has so far delivered 67 jerseys to Agoga FC in Kwera, 90 jerseys to the Adok Women Football Team, and now 37 jerseys to Owanadilo Women FC in Alito.
With each handover, the pitch feels less like bare ground and more like a place where dreams can run.
