Uganda's Quidditch players with global dreams

Weather - Sydney 18°C

Uganda's Quidditch players with global dreams

ECONOMY 28.01.2026

Uganda's Quidditch players with global dreams / Photo: © AFP

Far from the legendary skies above Hogwarts school, a young woman chased a "Golden Snitch" highlighting how the craze for Harry Potter's favourite sport, Quidditch, has taken hold in a remote Ugandan village.

Change text size:

In a clearing surrounded by banana trees, around 135 kilometres (80 miles) from the capital Kampala, players ran around with sticks between their legs instead of broomsticks.

The adapted version of Quidditch is officially called quadball, and does not require the same magical or flying abilities as the sport invented by J.K. Rowling for her world-conquering fantasy books.

But it has gained a following around the world and it came to Katwadde, deep in rural southern Uganda, in 2013 thanks to primary school teacher John Ssentamu, who discovered the sport after reading a Harry Potter book over the shoulder of someone on a bus.

"The word 'Quidditch' meant nothing to me, neither in English nor in any other language, so I went on Google," Ssentamu, 47, told AFP.

"I was like hey it's a game... it's beautiful. I think I could introduce this to my community," he said.

Ssentamu put together a team around Good Shepherd Primary school where he teaches.

Ten years of hard work paid off in 2023 when Ssentamu's team hosted and won the first national quadball tournament. The east African country now has more than 200 players.

The aim of quadball is to throw balls through hoops. But Ssentamu loves the way it combines elements of netball, football, volleyball, and rugby -- and also the equality between men and women, which is an official requirement for every team.

But without magic, reality can intrude.

The team lacks the funds to travel, said Ssentamu, and despite invitations, they have been unable to attend the quadball World Cup, held every two years since 2012 in Europe or the Americas.

Thirty-one teams took part in the last World Cup, a three-day event in Belgium last year.

"My dream is to see a team from here going to the World Cup of Quidditch, because it would be a revelation for the whole world," he said.

Still, the sport has boosted the community in Katwadde, attracting children to the school in an area where education is not always a priority.

Vicky Edith Nabbanja, Ssentamu's daughter, is one of the "beaters", who can temporarily knock opposing players out of the game with dodgeballs

"It has brought youth together and it has opened up their minds" while also helping to create "a community of belonging", the 25-year-old said.

C.Blake--TNT

Featured

Carney touts Canada 'pivot' away from US as Trump levels new threat

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but the benefits were clear, as President Donald Trump threatened new penalties targeting Canada.

Nearly 1,100 flights cancelled after UK air traffic control glitch

Almost 1,100 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Tuesday due to what the country's air traffic control service called a technical issue, in the latest glitch to spark travel chaos.

Carney touts Canada 'pivot' away from US as tariffs rise

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but the long-term benefits were clear, as retaliatory tariffs on US products took effect.

The "Everlasting Battery" Inside Your Joints:UConn Professor's Self-Powered Healing Material just Got Acquired

A material that turns your own movement into medicine has just landed a corporate home. PetVivo Holdings (OTCQX: PETV), a veterinary biotech and biomedical device company focused on treating osteoarthritis in dogs and horses, has acquired PiezoBioMembrane (PBM) — a startup built around a biodegradable implant that generates electricity from the everyday force of a joint in motion, and uses that charge to help regrow cartilage from the inside out. The material is the invention of Thanh Nguyen, a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering, who founded PBM in 2021 to advance new implementation methods for his work with piezoelectric materials — substances that convert mechanical force into electrical energy. These materials are typically ceramics: hard, brittle, and poorly suited for medical use. But Nguyen's lab developed new forms that are so , flexible, and biodegradable, breaking down naturally within the body over time. wound healing, The materials have already shown strong potential across a range of medical applications, including tissue regeneration, implanted force sensors, and targeted drug delivery in tumor treatment. How It Works biodegradable ultrasound for In the case of arthritis, Nguyen explains, the piezoelectric materials function as an off-the-shelf product that can be implanted or injected directly into the ailing joint — with no drugs, chemicals, or cells required. The everyday force exerted on the joint generates a small electrical charge, which helps regrow healthy cartilage, mimicking the body's natural use of electricity to regenerate tissue. "The body can be electrically stimulated to regrow," Nguyen says. PBM's materials "act like a battery — an everlasting battery that works whenever there is a force applied, and vanishes safely inside the body over time." PetVivo's Vision for the Acquisition PetVivo Holdings CEO John Lai expressed enthusiasm for the merger's potential to improve the lives of companion animals globally. "PBM has developed a compelling functional biomaterials platform with the potential to support the development of multiple medical device and therapeutic product lines across both human and animal health markets," Lai said in a press release. "By combining PBM's scientific innovation with PetVivo's product development capabilities, commercialization experience, regulatory expertise, and public company infrastructure, we believe we can accelerate theadvancement of technologies that may serve as the foundation for numerous future products and strategic opportunities." For Nguyen, the deal is a chance to scale technology that could eventually benefit both animals and people. "PetVivo is an animal health company, but they do have a big passion: pushing the technology towards clinical trials for human use," Nguyen says. "That aligned perfectly with my passion for developing technology that has an impact on human life. That is why I am excited about this merger, which facilitates my passion." A Track Record of Innovation Nguyen's research sits at the intersection of medicine, micro/nanotechnology, and biomaterials. His inventions have earned him publications in prominent scientific journals and media coverage from outlets including NPR. Nguyen founded PBM during the COVID-19 pandemic, a er realizing the material he had developed could be used to create an especially effective, biodegradable face mask — one where the mechanical force of breathing generated an electrical charge that provided an extra layer of protection against viruses. PBM is not Nguyen's only venture in the acquisition pipeline. His other startup, Single-Time Microneedles (STM), is also currently undergoing an acquisition process. STM has pioneered stable, efficient vaccine delivery technology in the form of an adhesive patch. shelfNguyen's focus on biodegradable materials has translated into a remarkably diverse range of medical applications. He has received five R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting research in cartilage regeneration, bone regeneration, HIV antibody delivery systems, and biodegradable ultrasound technology to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for brain cancer. "Whatever we are working on, we want to show that it works very well in vitro and in vivo," Nguyen says. "Then, when we are at the point of commercialization, we set up a startup or license the technology — or maybe team up with an industry partner." Thanh Nguyen is a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering. (Courtesy of Thanh Nguyen

Change text size:

The National Times - Uganda's Quidditch players with global dreams