AFTER recently returning from a week-long trip to Uganda, Geelong defender Tom Lonergan says he has no doubt an AFL player will eventually be recruited from Africa.
Lonergan and Cats ruckman Brad Ottens travelled to the remote Ugandan village of Mannya as part of a visit organised by one of Geelong's sponsors, clothing manufacturer Cotton On.
During their stay in Mannya they helped out with a number of charity projects within the town, which has a population of 6500.
"Cotton On has created a relationship with a group over in Uganda and they are helping build the community," Lonergan explained.
"Brad and I thought it would be a great experience to travel over there and that's how it turned out."
However, just getting to the village was a struggle in itself.
"It was about a 38-hour trip all-up from Geelong," Lonergan said. "After we landed in Uganda it was an eight-hour bus ride to get out there. I was a bit worried about how 'Otto' would go with his long legs, but he got through ok."
It didn't take long for the AFL stars to be struck by culture-shock.
"We just slept in huts and we had a shower in there, but it was just a trickle of water coming out," Lonergan said.
"Then the water tank collapsed, so after that we just had to bucket water over ourselves.
"The only electricity was from a generator and that was only on for part of the day.
"It was a real experience. There were 10 or 12 people in some of the families and they were living in tiny rooms made out of mud bricks and with dirt floors.
"It was pretty sad to see some of that stuff. But most of the people seemed happy to see us. They were always dancing and they were really welcoming."
While in Uganda, Lonergan and Ottens handed out footballs to many children, and they were amazed at the youngsters' skill with the oval ball.
"We gave the kids a bit of a clinic in Aussie rules and tried to explain a few things," Lonergan said.
"They had no idea about the game, but their skills were just incredible. We do kids around the district in Geelong and some of the kids we come across a nowhere near as skilled as the kids over there."
With the AFL pushing hard to develop the game in South Africa, Lonergan now has little doubt that a star footballer will eventually be recruited from the region.
"It's only a matter of time," he said. "If they put some real money into it, there will be some great athletes come out of there.
"There's so many kids that are tall, athletic and very quick. It's only a matter of them picking up the finer points of the game. Once they do that you could see a really good player come out of there."
Last Modified on 07/12/2010 10:52