Sports in Africa

By Jacob Olivera

We’ve been playing a lot of sports in Africa: soccer, and volleyball, and have even played some netball. It can seem like some arbitrary waste of time, but playing sports has been so beneficial. Through sports, soccer specifically, we have been able to connect with and fellowship with other groups.

The first organization we played against was St. Johns school. For being so young, they were actually really good. We played them twice on different days, and both games were extremely close. The special thing about this game, however, wasn’t the game itself but the things that resulted from it. Not only did we strengthen our relationships with the kids and teachers from St. John’s. We even got an opportunity to eat pizza with them and get to know them personally a couple of days later.

The next team we played was the Nakasongola Prison’s best team. It was a good time despite the rough field, but it was great being able to create a moment with the prisoners. We were told that not many people visit, and if they do, they don’t stay for long. So we decided to make the game feel as real as possible, came in matching shirts, and played our hardest. I know we didn’t have much to offer, but the Bible does tell us to visit the prisoner. So we decided to do all we could and show them that we care about them and they aren’t forgotten. I know it’s just a game, but I hope they can look back at it in the future and remember the love God has for them.

The last team we played against was the staff at Kakungulu High School. They were a Muslim school, but we were still able to enjoy each other’s company despite the tension that usually exists between Christians and Muslims in Uganda. We weren’t there trying to evangelize but rather just build a relationship with a local school. People focus a lot on religion and not on the people. This soccer game and subsequent relationship shirk that paradigm. God wants all His children to love one another, and although they may not believe in God, he wants to extend that love to all his children, as all humans are his children.

Even though it’s “just a sport,” soccer has been able to connect us to all sorts of people. In a ministry focused on serving people, I’d say it’s pretty important to have genuine connections with these people.