Ugandan referee Shamirah Nabadda has been named African Referee of the Year in the women’s category at the CAF Awards 2025 in Rabat, Morocco.
Nabadda’s recognition comes after another outstanding year in which she officiated major continental and global tournaments, including the African Nations Championship jointly hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Nabadda burst into the spotlight in 2018 when she was given the mandate to referee the crucial game between title-chasing KCCA FC and relegation-threatened Masavu FC in Entebbe. She became the youngest-ever female centre referee to officiate a top-flight match in Ugandan football at the age of 23.
Since then, Nabadda has been on an upward trajectory, officiating several top-flight league games before being selected to officiate at the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and last year’s CAF Women’s Champions League.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, which she attained from Bishop Stuart University. Before becoming a referee, Nabadda attempted to pursue a career in football as a player. This all started during her school days at Masaka S.S., where she was part of the school football team.
“I simply played football to enjoy myself, nothing else. However, I was also very keen on the rules of the game, and this used to baffle my teammates, who thought I had a lot of kajanja [curiosity] regarding football rules,” Nabadda was quoted as saying during one of her interviews.
She later joined Western United in the top-flight women’s league (FWEL). However, in 2015, she was recommended by a former FUFA delegate for Mbarara—who was also a close friend of her family—Abbas Sendyowa (RIP), to attend a refereeing course at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru.
While continuing to play for Western United, Nabadda started officiating at lower-tier football tournaments.
By 2016, Nabadda had gained acceptance and found her footing in the sport. That is how she ended up officiating at the Copa Coca-Cola Schools Tournament, in the top-flight women’s league, and—as they say—the rest is history
