An extraordinary person and sports figure, Innocent Mbabali is dedicated to youth development and promoting field hockey in his native Uganda and beyond.
When speaking and writing about field hockey, I remember the lines said by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “Field Hockey – A facet of life so undeniably appreciated in our society. I would wish it to be one of the last things I think before I die.” To gain more perspective on what that means, I caught up recently with Innocent Mbabali, the Ugandan professional hockey player and coach. Mbabali founded Hope Hockey Skills Foundation to inspire and empower young talents and players across Uganda.
Ravi: Tell us about your childhood and your experience with sports.
Mbabali: I grew up in a sports community with different sports activities, and I played almost all of the games, including cricket, tennis, football, volleyball, rugby, and lacrosse. I started playing hockey at the age of five and worked hard to become a professional hockey player.
Ravi: Who were your idols and heroes growing up? Was there anyone outside hockey you idolized?
Innocent (second to the right) in action (photo courtesy Sportsoceanuganda.com)
Mbabali: I idolized a senior hockey player back home, but he disappointed me as the days and months passed by. This motivated me to train hard and be ethical so that young players watching me play will pick up the hockey stick.
Ravi: What is domestic hockey like in Africa and Uganda? How has it evolved over the years?
Mbabali: In Uganda, I believe the sport has failed to develop and grow due to selfishness in leadership and management. We have a lot of talented players who need exposure in order to grow into great players.
Ravi: Do you remember your first match?
Mbabali: I played as a right-back, and I am currently an attacking midfielder.
Ravi: How is it with your mates on and off the pitch? Do you have a few favorites among them?
Mbabali: I believe in communicating on the pitch so that we can better understand the game situation and change strategies when needed. Off it, I discuss and learn from my coaches and management to become a better version of myself.
Ravi: What do you see as the highlight of your professional career?
Mbabali: I am humbled to say this: 70% of the girls on the Uganda national team, and kids between the age of 14 to 20 playing in the Ugandan top league field hockey, have all come through my hockey foundation.
Ravi: Talk us through the early days of your coaching career?
Mbabali: I started coaching to keep kids busy. I started with around five to seven kids and used other players’ hockey equipment. Later, I got support from friends and families. So literally, I started with nothing, but now I have something to work with.
Ravi: Tell us about your coaching style.
Mbabali: I love the 3-4-3 formation, and I believe in ball control, strong passing, and teaching the 4 Ws, namely, When, Where, Why, and Which.
Ravi: Tell us about Hope for Sports Uganda Hockey Foundation.
Innocent teaching kids (photo, Twitter)
Mbabali: We changed the name to Hope Hockey Skills Foundation. This foundation is aimed at inspiring and empowering young talented players in Uganda. We are working hard to make the sport more popular through different hockey and non-hockey activities, and we run mixed hockey camps, girls hockey camps, girl child education, and hockey tournaments. We introduce the sport to different parts of the country often through primary and secondary schools, and e include non-hockey activities, like baking and crafts, which we believe helps in reducing the rate of school dropouts, early pregnancy in young girls, drug use in kids, etc. We are currently working in one community because of limited resources and funds to run programs, but very soon we will be back to our beautiful work. At one time, we had over 1200 kids playing hockey in four different Ugandan districts.
Ravi: How are you keeping yourself busy during this lockdown?
Mbabali: I am currently in Italy playing and training hockey for the kids. During the first lockdown in Uganda 2020, I was supporting and helping out in my community, working with kids and families, including helping get food in their hands. Many families didn’t have enough to eat, and it was a very hard time for us.
Ravi: What is your philosophy in sports and life?
Mbabali: Be disciplined, create as many friends as possible, do what makes you happy, and never hurt anyone. Be ethical and have a good character. Finally, be disciplined, patient, positive, think out of the box, and accept the challenges because those things are the best teachers in life.
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