A female rugby player has made history as the first Ugandan national to sign for a women’s super league side.
Peace Lekuru, 25, made the trip to North Yorkshire from Uganda earlier this month to join York Valkyrie, which has well-established sporting links with her home country.
Ms Lekuru, who plays as a centre or backrower, said she’d found “another family” at the club since relocating, and described the move as dream come true.
“I feel like I’m lifting up the flag of Uganda and I don’t take it for granted. I feel like I’ve really achieved my goals now, by being here in York,” she said.
York Valkyrie director of rugby, Lindsay Anfield, has been involved with introducing rugby league to Africa since 2006, when she joined the Tag Rugby Trust charity.
Over the past two decades, Ms Anfield has led six tours to Uganda and Kenya.
It was on one of these trips that Ms Anfield first encountered Ms Lekuru, who was a tag rugby graduate at the time.
The catalyst for their collaboration came later, when, in 2023, Ms Lekuru helped to lead her team Entebbe Baleen to victory in the Ugandan Rugby League.
Ms Anfield said: “Peace has been on our radar since we saw her compete when the Valkyrie went on tour to Uganda.
“I’m very performance-driven, and I thought Peace can mix in with the best of them, so why not come and show everyone – and she has done.
“I’m really proud of her.”
For Ms Lekuru who started playing rugby at the age of 12, the opportunity to play in the UK was exciting – although her family was initially hesitant about the distance.
“My mum didn’t want me to be far away from her because I’m the only girl. Now she’s like ‘ as long as you give me a call and you’re smiling, that’s the goal for me’,” the player said.
She has only been in York for three weeks but describes it as a “really lovely” so far.
“Having people around you, there’s no difference between home and here. “I was really welcomed with warm hands – having another family who are so friendly and loving. “They really want you to learn, so I’m really having fun in York.”
For Ms Anfield, signing Ms Lekuru – who scored a hat-trick against Barrow Ladies last Sunday – is the start of what she hopes will be a boost for Ugandan women’s rugby.
She described her as “a real trailblazer for African women’s rugby”. “Hopefully it’s opening the doors for other girls. Peace is hopefully the first of many,” she said.
“I think, even five years ago, you wouldn’t get kids saying I want to be a professional rugby player as a female – and now it’s a reality. “I feel very privileged to be part of that journey with these girls.”
By BBC