Mufaddal Badri, Grade 11
UWCEA Arusha Campus
People always see football as a wealthy sport or the big football clubs as something only the fortunate can play but only some will remember when you had to remove the ball from underneath a car, or when the game finished when the owner of the ball got mad, or when the poor fat guy was always the goalie, or when you had to use different items as goal-posts, or celebrating each goal as the winning goal in a world cup final. This is football. The real-football.
Football can be played in 2’s or 5’s but the real fun is a game of 11v11 for a full 90 minutes to find an actual winner. It’s a phenomenon that keeps people engrossed because winds change in a jiffy and football has the charisma that makes it so exceptional. You may be losing by 2 goals to nil but 1 goal back can change the whole momentum and may end up winning- just like the way Solskjaer did it for United in 1999.
So yeah, football is my activity, my go-to sport, my everything. Play it when I’m happy, frustrated, sad, or in the rain, sun, or early morning at 4. It has been a huge influence to who I am today. As mentioned above, it’s more fun when playing as a team because not only do I have fun with my teammates but also it enhances my cooperation and leadership aspects of my life. Secondly, it teaches me to never give up no matter the challenge because trust me the amount of 90+3 goals I’ve seen- I know. All in all, it teaches me that you can’t always win- you lose some, you win some. Like the way Alex Ferguson dominated with United from 1990 to 2013 but since then United haven’t been the same. Yes-I support United-yes, we are fine. Moving on!
It’s a ritual for me to play football- I train on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays with senior people from my community as we have our own ground. I play on Fridays with my friends- just to release some pressure and have fun but also we have a team that registers for football tournaments that take place quite often in Dar es Salaam. We don’t usually win but participation is key and you get to meet new people from different countries and cultures.
That’s why I aim to compete in football at UWC- on second thought- it was one of the reasons I chose UWC, as UWC isn’t all about academics but how you get on with other extracurricular activities. Plus, I get to put my teamwork and leadership skills to unite the team and who knows win some trophies for the school.
“Look who just scored the winning goal in the World cup final.” That is every guy’s dream and mine too but only I don't see football as a full-time part of me but also I view it as a side of me that can’t be removed. So, even tho I didn’t want to go pro, I’ll still play locally and keep up with my fitness, cause I don’t want a dad-bod in my 30’s. Maybe later- in my 50’s when I'm sipping juices on the beach.
Football can be played in 2’s or 5’s but the real fun is a game of 11v11 for a full 90 minutes to find an actual winner. It’s a phenomenon that keeps people engrossed because winds change in a jiffy and football has the charisma that makes it so exceptional. You may be losing by 2 goals to nil but 1 goal back can change the whole momentum and may end up winning- just like the way Solskjaer did it for United in 1999.
So yeah, football is my activity, my go-to sport, my everything. Play it when I’m happy, frustrated, sad, or in the rain, sun, or early morning at 4. It has been a huge influence to who I am today. As mentioned above, it’s more fun when playing as a team because not only do I have fun with my teammates but also it enhances my cooperation and leadership aspects of my life. Secondly, it teaches me to never give up no matter the challenge because trust me the amount of 90+3 goals I’ve seen- I know. All in all, it teaches me that you can’t always win- you lose some, you win some. Like the way Alex Ferguson dominated with United from 1990 to 2013 but since then United haven’t been the same. Yes-I support United-yes, we are fine. Moving on!
It’s a ritual for me to play football- I train on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays with senior people from my community as we have our own ground. I play on Fridays with my friends- just to release some pressure and have fun but also we have a team that registers for football tournaments that take place quite often in Dar es Salaam. We don’t usually win but participation is key and you get to meet new people from different countries and cultures.
That’s why I aim to compete in football at UWC- on second thought- it was one of the reasons I chose UWC, as UWC isn’t all about academics but how you get on with other extracurricular activities. Plus, I get to put my teamwork and leadership skills to unite the team and who knows win some trophies for the school.
“Look who just scored the winning goal in the World cup final.” That is every guy’s dream and mine too but only I don't see football as a full-time part of me but also I view it as a side of me that can’t be removed. So, even tho I didn’t want to go pro, I’ll still play locally and keep up with my fitness, cause I don’t want a dad-bod in my 30’s. Maybe later- in my 50’s when I'm sipping juices on the beach.
www.unitedworldwide.co