Empowering girls through sport, teamwork, and life skills

On Sunday 15th June, DBA Africa hosted an exciting triangular rugby festival featuring Under-15 girls teams from the DBA WaziWazi Academy, Merishaw School, and the Ololo Foundation. The tournament is part of DBA’s growing sports development and education through sport programme, which aims to empower young boys and girls through the power of rugby.

The event took place at Kenton College, home of the DBA WaziWazi Academy. It gave young players a fun and competitive space to test their skills, work as a team, and grow in confidence, both on and off the pitch. These small but meaningful sport for development tournaments are not just about winning. They help young people build character, develop leadership, and learn important life skills through play.

The matches also served as warm-up fixtures for the much-anticipated Girls Futures Cup, which will take place on 13th July at St. Christopher’s International School.

In the first game, the DBA U15 girls came out strong with two tries and solid defence, beating the Ololo Foundation 10-0. The result reflected the girls’ hard work and the academy’s approach to combining rugby coaching with life skills development in every session.

In Game 2, the Ololo Foundation returned with energy and purpose, defeating DBA 20-10 in a hard-fought match full of strong tackles, fast passes, and great teamwork from both sides.

These games showed just how important inclusive sports programmes are. In a world where rugby is often seen as a boys sport, this event reminded us that girls can play, compete, and lead just as powerfully. Giving girls equal access to sport is a vital step toward gender equity and building stronger, healthier communities.

‘At DBA, we believe that sport is a powerful tool for education’ says Philiip Wamae, Academy Manager. “Adding life skills into our coaching sessions has resulted in better players, but also made our coaches think deeper and amplify the life skills they were already coaching week in week out”

The triangular tournament is part of DBA Africa’s mission to use sport for education, empowerment, and social change. By creating regular opportunities for children and teens to play and learn, DBA is helping shape a new generation of confident, compassionate, and skilled young athletes.

Whether they’re winning or learning, these players are doing more than just playing rugby, they’re building futures.

The Girls Futures cup is scheduled to take place at St Christophers International School on the 13th of July.