Kigali, May 6, 2026 — When Marie Grace Uwimana lost her left leg to a bacterial infection at age 14, she was told she would never play sports again. More than a decade later, the 25-year-old Rwandan is one of the most dynamic players on Rwanda’s women’s amputee football team, a squad that is rewriting what athletes with disabilities can achieve in Africa and challenging deep-seated stigma around physical difference.
The team, which trains at a modest sports complex on the outskirts of Kigali, has been steadily building a reputation across the continent, competing in regional tournaments and drawing attention from disability rights advocates who see the players as symbols of broader social change.
When I started playing, people laughed, Uwimana recalled in an interview. They said a woman with one leg cannot run, cannot compete. Now those same people come to watch us play and they cheer. That change in how people see us — that is the real victory.
From Exclusion to Empowerment
Amputee football is among the fastest-growing disability sports in Africa, though women’s participation has lagged behind men’s programs. Rwanda’s team is part of a small but growing number of female amputee football squads emerging across the continent, including teams in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The sport follows international rules: players with limb differences compete on crutches, with no prosthetic limbs permitted. The game is played on a smaller field with seven players per side, and matches are divided into two 25-minute halves. It demands extraordinary upper body strength, balance, and tactical awareness.
Rwanda’s women’s team was formally established three years ago with support from the Rwanda National Paralympic Committee and funding from international disability sport organizations. From a founding squad of eight players, the team has grown to 22, ranging in age from 18 to 32.
The sport has given many players something far beyond athletics: a path to economic independence. Several team members have secured employment through partnerships with companies that have committed to hiring people with disabilities. Others have become coaches and mentors for younger players.
Overcoming Social Stigma
In Rwanda, as across much of Africa, people with physical disabilities have historically faced discrimination in employment, education, and social life. Women with disabilities often face compounded marginalization — viewed as less marriageable, less capable, and less deserving of investment. The amputee football team has become a powerful counter-narrative.
When I joined the team, my family was ashamed, said Claudine Nyiramahirwe, 21, who lost her right leg in a road accident at age 8. They did not want me to be seen in public. Now I travel to competitions, I represent Rwanda, I earn money. My younger sisters see me and believe they can be anything.
Ambitions on the Continental Stage
The team’s next major target is the African Amputee Football Cup of Nations, a tournament that determines the continent’s representatives at the Amputee Football World Cup. Rwanda has never qualified for the global event, but coaches believe the current squad has the talent to change that.
International disability rights organizations have taken note. Several have visited the team’s training sessions, and discussions are underway about potential sponsorship deals that could fund expanded training facilities and competition travel.
For the players themselves, however, the stakes are more personal than any trophy. I lost my leg, but I did not lose my life, said Uwimana. Every time I step onto that field, I am proving to myself and to everyone around me that I am whole.