How sport is connecting Arua’s diverse youth

It’s 5 O’clock and Twambe Health Center is filled with football lovers among them is Gibson Adinyo, a regular at the center. 

Adinyo is a central midfielder who is among the young players who are using sports in Arua to unite other players from Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan nationalities that have made Arua home.

“It breaks down barriers and creates a sense of identity. It’s a sense of belonging and pride  In a community where I am i is how i interact with people and connect with people through football” says Adinyo.

In Uganda, Arua is one of the biggest host districts for the migrants and refugees, The West Nile region hosts 656,685 refugees according to a report from the office of the Prime Minister as of July 2024. 

These refugees come from neighboring countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan and have made  Arua their new home. 

Football has made it easy for these migrants to socialize with the locals within the area. The Arua city sports office annually organizes sports events for the refugees to foster unity among the locals and the refugees.

“Football is a unique thing that brings everyone together” according to  Ahamed Olima Borini a former coach of Onduparaka Football Club. 

Borini retired at the young age of 27 years to become a coach after sustaining an injury. 

There are very many sports played around Arua including athletes that produced Uganda’s first female gold medal winner Dorcus Inzikuru however football has proudly stood out and been able to bring the numerous nationalities to a common ground.  

In Arua football has outgrown all the levels to become a bridge that connects cultures and also links communities. 

Football has become a source of happiness to not only those that play it but even to the spectators that watch from the stands. Olima emphasizes it deeply that “ football is a source of happiness and that happiness alone clears people hearts.

“I speak a different language you speak a different language but when we are in the pitch the common language is football” says Taban Wijo, a winger with Araka Football Club in Yumbe district. 

In Arua the beautiful game of football has achieved what diplomacy and politics regularly strives to get achieved that’s meeting the goal of bringing people together. The game continues to inspire and act as a kind reminder that even within the most divide of times we can find a common ground on the football pitch.

 Football has lived to cement the notion that no matter the division that exists in our societies it acts as a common ground. 

In Arua city this beautiful game is not only entertaining but also very inspiring which saves as huge testament to the power of sports in uniting people of different nationalities and backgrounds.