08 March 2026

International Women’s Day

Where Women Lead, Girls Rise, and Opportunity Becomes Real

At DBA Africa, International Women’s Day is not a photoshoot. It’s not a panel discussion. It’s not a once-a-year celebration.It’s visible every session on our training fields. It’s in the whistle of a female coach. It’s in the physio kit on the touchline. It’s in the quiet confidence of a girl who once thought rugby wasn’t for her.

This is the DBA environment, where women lead, mentor, compete, officiate and build systems that allow girls in Kenya and East Africa to thrive through sport.

Leadership That Sets the Standard

At the top of DBA Africa’s structure are leaders who have intentionally built inclusion into the organisation’s DNA.

Under the leadership of Storm Trentham and Susanne Hallergard, girls’ empowerment is not symbolic, it is strategic. From academy structures to tournament design, from safeguarding systems to scholarship pathways, gender inclusion is embedded in decision-making. Storm and Suzanne have championed:

• Dedicated girls’ divisions in major competitions like the Futures Cup 
• Investment in female coaches across regions 
• Safe sport frameworks with female medical and welfare presence 
• Clear progression routes into national age-grade opportunities, including the HSBC 2 Age Grade Category 
• Education-linked scholarship pathways for standout athletes 

The message from leadership has always been clear: if we are shaping the future of sport in Africa, girls must be central to it.That tone shapes everything that follows.

Coaches Who Have Lived the Journey

What makes DBA different is who stands in front of the girls every week. These are not coaches reading from manuals. These are women who have lived the reality of women’s rugby in Kenya.

Mercy Migongo, one of the highest-ranked female rugby coaches in the country with a level two world rugby accreditation, continues to run development programmes for girls in Kibera. She understands access, struggle and growth, because she has navigated it herself.

Coach Kemunto brings national team experience in both 7s and 15s directly into grassroots sessions. For a 15-year-old girl watching her demonstrate a drill, the gap between “me” and “Kenya jersey” suddenly feels smaller.

Coach Liz, a national 15s player and club manager, teaches leadership beyond performance. She shows that you can organise, manage, strategise, and still dominate on the pitch.

Coach Ade carries history. As a pioneer of women’s rugby in Kenya, she represents the era when opportunities were scarce, and ensures this generation never goes backwards.

Coach Ann, another national 7s and 15s player, models long-term commitment. Her message is simple: consistency compounds.

At Western Academy, Coach Khatanje competes for her club on Saturday and coaches girls on Sundays. That is servant leadership in motion.

Coach Olivia, teacher, Nakuru RFC Women player, Rift Region coach, bridges academics and athletics daily. She reminds girls that sport strengthens, not replaces, education.

Kate, our physio, ensures recovery and injury prevention are prioritised. Safe sport for girls in Kenya is not optional, it is professionalised.

Keshi, one of the youngest emerging leaders in the rugby space, volunteers as a team manager. She represents the next generation of women in sports leadership.

And Coach Knight, former national 7s and 15s player, now rising referee, expands the imagination of what’s possible. Her journey from player to official tells every DBA girl: rugby pathways don’t end at playing. Leadership exists at every level.

Girls Showing Up and Showing Out

The most powerful part of International Women’s Day at DBA Africa is not the speeches. It’s the girls. It’s the 12-year-old tying her boots tighter. It’s the shy athlete asking for extra reps. It’s the winger who now calls defensive structures confidently.

Across DBA academies in Nairobi, Western Kenya, Rift Valley and the Coast, girls train in rugby, athletics and lacrosse with structure and purpose. Through the Futures Cup, they compete in high-visibility tournaments that feel professional, organised and aspirational. What started as limited girls’ fixtures has grown into full divisions where teams battle for titles and recognition.

Through lacrosse development programmes, girls access a sport that connects to international scholarship networks and exposure opportunities.

Through athletics race fund pathways, young runners move from local training environments to bigger meets building confidence, times and ambition.

Through structured performance systems, standout athletes enter national conversations, including opportunities within age-grade categories such as the HSBC 2 pathway structures, where exposure and elite progression become real possibilities. And when they perform, doors open.

From Competition to Opportunity

At DBA Africa, sport is not the end goal. Impact is. That impact looks like:

• Girls earning school scholarships through performance and academic discipline
• Athletes getting scouted at tournaments like the Futures Cup
• Players accessing mentorship that keeps them in school
• Young women developing leadership skills that translate beyond sport
• Increased confidence and retention of girls in structured programmes

Scholarships, both local and international, are not abstract promises. They are outcomes tied to discipline, visibility and structured development. And behind every scholarship is a coach who believed. A director who built the system. A girl who showed up consistently.

International Women’s Day, The DBA Way

At DBA Africa, International Women’s Day is visible in layers: Women in leadership shaping strategy. Women coaching contact sessions. Women refereeing matches. Women managing teams. Women safeguarding athlete welfare. Girls competing, winning, and earning opportunities.

It is an ecosystem, not a moment. And as the girls step onto bigger stages, in rugby, lacrosse, athletics and national age-grade pathways, they carry with them something powerful:

Representation. Structure. Belief. That is the DBA environment. That is women in sport in Kenya, building the next generation, one training session at a time.

Happy Women’s Day.