Kisiki Hai Cup: Regreening with football

A few weeks ago, in the Mpwapwa District of the Dodoma Region, Central Tanzania, the Kisiki Hai Cup was implemented across eight villages. This was a community engagement and rural communications initiative aimed at increasing awareness and encouraging the adoption of landscape restoration practices. Delivered in partnership with LEAD Foundation, the eight-day tournament used football as an engaging platform to reach communities with practical regreening information.

An engaged audience 

Taking example from last year’s campaign in Northern Tanzania, we co-organised this football tournament. Across the eight villages, the football tournament attracted more than 15,000 spectators, including farmers, young people, local leaders and other community members. The final match alone brought together more than 5,000 spectators, demonstrating the potential of community sporting events to mobilise large audiences around restoration.

A time for sharing knowledge 

Landscape restoration messaging was integrated throughout the tournament. Match days were combined with practical training on Kisiki Hai (Swahili for Treecovery) and other regreening practices, farmer testimonies, educational sessions and entertainment. These activities allowed community members to learn about restoration in an accessible and engaging environment, while hearing directly from farmers already applying the practices and seeing their benefits. 

The tournament also provided an opportunity to reach people beyond those already participating in the restoration program. By bringing restoration messages into a popular community activity, the campaign encouraged broader conversations about land degradation, tree regeneration and the role farmers and communities can play in restoring their landscapes. 

Spreading the message via sports 

Overall, the Kisiki Hai Cup demonstrated the value of integrating sport into rural communications and community mobilisation. It provided a platform where learning, entertainment and community participation could take place together, thereby strengthening the visibility of restoration practices at the village level. 

The experience provides valuable lessons for future rural communications activities and demonstrates the potential of using locally relevant platforms such as football to expand the reach of restoration messages, strengthen community engagement and encourage locally led action towards healthier and more resilient landscapes.