Shamirah Nabadda is among the three Ugandan referees at the ongoing 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament happening in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. The other two are Lucky Kasalirwe and Assistant Referee Ronald Katenya.
Nabadda, who is fresh from officiating at the Women’s AFCON, was in action on Sunday in the game between Madagascar and Mauritania, which ended in a goalless draw in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
She’s a rising star in Ugandan refereeing, as just last year, she officiated at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.
But who is Shamirah Nabadda?
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 tried pursuing 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 about 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 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 low-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.
