Inside Rays of Grace’s football talent factory

Dean David Ssegirinya saved three penalties against Somalia to help Uganda qualify for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, earning the Cecafa zonal tournament’s best goalkeeper award and putting the spotlight on the academy that helped shape his rise.

Recruited by Rays of Grace from Kiboga, the Senior Two student at St Mary’s Kitende is among a growing crop of players emerging from the Njeru-based institution, which has spent a decade combining football development with education while offering opportunities for vulnerable children.

“For us, if a player has talent plus effort it will become an achievement,” says academy director Roberts Kiwanuka, whose philosophy places as much emphasis on attitude and character as on natural ability.

The academy’s growing list of graduates includes Travis Mutyaba, who has represented the Uganda Cranes, Lawrence Kambugu, who finished as the Fufa Big League’s leading scorer with Ntugasaze in the 2024/25 season, subsequently moved to Uganda Premier League side BUL.

Other products include Enock Luyima, who progressed to Vipers, and Lorian Lwesibawa, who scored twice for the Uganda Cubs during their push for qualification for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

The list also includes Issa Bugembe, while early products such as Elvis Ssekajugo and Vicent Mulema helped establish the academy’s name in youth competitions. Arafat Nkoola, another of its promising exports, is expected to be unveiled by Swedish club Hammarby.

Rays of Grace has become a major feeder of talent to leading schools, including St Mary’s Kitende, Buddo SS, Amus College and Bukedea Comprehensive, among others. 

In 2024, its graduates helped St Julian win the USSSA Boys Football Championship in Masaka, beating Amus College 3-0 in the final. Under coach Michael Kabali, the academy also guided St Pontiano Ngondwe Kangulumira, to the 2022 championship final.

Building a pathway

Rays of Grace’s achievements have come through a combination of grassroots recruitment, regular competition and investment in coaching and facilities.

The academy won the inaugural Fufa Primary Schools Championship (Odilo Cup), in 2019 and retained the national title in 2022. The championship has since become extinct. It also won the boys’ under-16 football gold medal at the 2022 Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (Feasssa) Games in Arusha, Tanzania, finishing the competition unbeaten.

Other honours include the Uganda Youth Football Association under-15 championship, Airtel Rising Stars titles and the Kabaka Cup.

But the ambition extends beyond collecting trophies. The football programme receives support from the Hoffman Family Foundation, which also supports the wider school and community development work.

Rays of Grace school operates a football academy where parents pay for their children to receive elite training. Alongside this, the academy identifies talented children from vulnerable backgrounds and offers them access to education through their sporting ability.

According to Kiwanuka, who is also the chairman of the Uganda Youth Football Associations (UYFA), talent must be recognised and nurtured, regardless of a child’s background. 

The academy has partnerships with leading Dutch football institutions, including Ajax, Sparta Rotterdam and Feyenoord, which provide opportunities for elite training and exchange programmes. Such links expose young players and coaches to different approaches to football development and offer a glimpse of the standards required to progress beyond local competitions.

The team uses an all-weather five-a-side pitch and an 11-a-side pitch for its training programmes. 

The ambitions for improved facilities gained momentum during the school’s 10th anniversary celebrations in September 2025, when former Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among commissioned the construction of a state-of-the-art sports complex at the academy.

More than football

Kiwanuka’s approach begins with the belief that talent is not always obvious and that schools have a responsibility to discover it.

“You can't know that on a total of 50 kids, there is no child that amused you!” he says, describing the need for teachers to remain alert to the abilities children display in and outside the classroom.

He believes that recognising a child’s strengths is only the first step. The next is helping the child understand what it takes to improve, whether in football, another sport or academic work.

At Rays of Grace, the school day runs from 8am to 3:30pm, leaving time for other activities. Football, basketball, netball and music form part of the daily programme after lessons.

The intention is to develop discipline, confidence, leadership and resilience alongside academic learning. Sport becomes a practical setting in which pupils learn to work with others, respond to setbacks and appreciate the effort required to improve.

Kiwanuka says the school also encourages children to reflect on their day, including what they have learnt, what they need to practise and where they could have done better.

That emphasis on self-assessment is important in football, where young players must improve through repetition. 

“As an academy, it’s the last-minute that we actually work on so hard to see success,” Kiwanuka says, describing the persistence needed to achieve a goal.

Rays of Grace was established in 2025 to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children while providing an environment in which they can access education and develop their abilities.

Its community programmes include support for village savings and loan groups, through which about 500 women have participated, alongside other initiatives intended to improve livelihoods and access to services.

Cost of nurturing talent

Behind the medals and transfers is a demanding development programme.

According to Kiwanuka, professional coaches, transport, equipment, player welfare and the work needed to monitor young players’ progress all require huge amounts of money. Yet the academy must also contend with increasing competition for talent as more schools and clubs invest in youth football.

“There was a time when every talented child across the country would look at Rays of Grace as the number one primary school for football. Today, when you go to places like Twinbrook, you find they have massive facilities, showing how quickly talent development is growing. Competition for scouted players is therefore very high,” Kiwanuka said.

“However, what matters most to us is creating success stories. When you produce one success story, many people take notice.”

The academy’s first decade offers evidence of what structured youth development can achieve. 

UTILITY

Football academy startup checklist

·         Recruit qualified coaches and technical staff.

·         Players’ meals, medical care and transport.

·         Balls, boots, kits and training equipment.

·         Secure and maintain safe training facilities.

·         Licensing requirements with Fufa, NCS and UYFA.

·         Tournament entry fees, travel and accommodation.

·         School fees and learning materials for players who need support.