Soccer with the First Lady

Nearly three weeks ago I had the unique opportunity to play in a charity soccer match in support of the One Dollar Campaign. This charity supports children orphaned by AIDS. This involved me arriving at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali around 1pm on Saturday to meet “the team”. Our team was a group of women expats working in Kigali for various NGOs or wives of NGO workers. The game was scheduled for 2pm and in true Rwandan fashion, we sat for four and a half hours waiting for our turn to play. There were several kids matches planned and we quickly realized that the six year olds were possibly putting on a better show, with their jerseys hanging to their knees like dresses, than how we expected to perform. Being the only non-Kigali based player and having not been to practice during the week, I was not starting and there was not a uniform for me. As luck would have it Nancy Barry didn’t show and I got her jersey. Guess what? It was number 10, a number I’ve played with for years!! Love those types of coincidences. The stadium became very full as we sat in the dressing room, occasionally playing team-building games, stretching and kicking the ball around trying not to break any windows. The prime minister of Rwanda came by to say “hi!” and take photos and soon enough, it was our turn. I can’t tell you how delightful it was to be waiting under the stadium, peering out at the crowd and being advised by the coordinators to behave; “It’s like the World Cup! Must follow protocol!” Too funny. We ran a lap of the field, trying to play up to the crowd a bit since it was a charity event. Our competitors were the Women of Parliament- including none other than President Kagame’s wife Jeannette. We were strongly encouraged to not make contact with her on the field and further more, to make her look good. She is a very tall lady with a nice smile and a pleasant manner. I guarded her in the second half and we had some nice conversations, but more on that later.
Sitting out the first five minutes was unbearable, I wanted to be on the field!! Finally, it was my turn and I ran out to my spot on left wing. Within minutes I had the ball and a breakaway. It was called back because one of my team mates was offside. Second time out, I broke away again, dribbled inside the 18 yard box and let one go. The goalie blocked it but didn’t grab the rebound, I followed up and put it in the top left corner! It was sooooo much fun !
One of the coolest parts of the game was that my friend Christi had come down to watch me play. She was up in the bleachers cheering away- my own personal fan club! There were a few VSO there too and the atmosphere was so energizing! By half-time we were up 3-0. I had seven more breakaways that were all called back because one of our players insisted on hanging out by their goalie?! It reminded me very much of last summer and how much I dislike playing “recreational” sports. It’s competitive or not at all for me :)
At halftime I got a little talking to that we collectively needed to try less and make it look a little more even for the sake of the Parliamentary women. I volunteered to play centre defense for the second half. This required some creative performances as I mostly ran away from the attacking player who had the ball. At one point, I let Jeannette Kagame pass the ball through my legs!! It was kinda funny but the crowd reaction was worth it. Midway through the second, we realized that the Parliamentaries had brought on several new players, including a 14 year old boy from one of the previous games. He was like a mini-Ronaldinho and I don’t think I could’ve covered him if I had been trying !! Anyway, they caught up 3-3 and then the boy took a dramatic dive inside the 18-yard box. The President’s wife took and scored the penalty to a roaring ovation! It couldn’t have ended any better. After the game, photo ops and a bit of dancing on the field with both teams, I made a quick getaway to catch a very late bus back to Gitarama with my cheerleader/friend, Christi. The next day on the evening news, the lead story was the soccer match. My goal was featured in the highlights. Does life get much better than this?