Young Ugandans tangle in the mud. They dream of becoming professional wrestlers

MUKONO, Uganda (AP) — In a forested area outside Uganda's capital, a few dozen youth gather around a makeshift ring to watch two amateur wrestlers tangle in the mud.

The training sessions, complete with an announcer and referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the teens regularly see on television. Ugandan enthusiast Daniel Bumba, known in the wrestling community as Bumbash, hopes that some of these wrestlers, many of them orphans, can do well and long enough to go professional.

It is the glimmer of a dream, with little else in place. The ring is made of bamboo poles lashed together with rope. And yet the youth pay 100,000 shillings ($26) as a commitment fee for a chance to leave the poverty of this farming region. That's the rough equivalent of 10 days' work by an average construction laborer, a significant amount.

The 35-year-old Bumba said he has been a wrestling fan since childhood. He became what's known as a video jockey after college, offering lively commentary and translating WWE matches into the local Luganda language for fellow viewers.

Now he's a pioneer, known only to a small group of fans in Uganda who follow pro wrestling on TV but aspiring to make it widely popular.

The community Bumba has created, known as Soft Ground Wrestling, has won the attention of some professional wrestlers with its YouTube channel, which broadcasts some bouts.

In February, the American wrestler whose ring name is Jordynne Grace shared a video of a wrestler smashing his opponent against bamboo poles. “What are the chances we could get in touch with them and see if they want a real ring?” she wrote on the social platform X.

Some Americans earlier this year launched a GoFundMe call on behalf of Soft Ground Wrestling. The pitch has raised just over $10,000 and says Uganda's amateur wrestlers "deserve a chance to showcase their talents to the world.”

In addition to buying a wrestling ring, any cash raised will help Soft Ground Wrestling to “continue renting out their land for the foreseeable future," it said.

Soft Ground Wrestling pays $250 monthly to use the four-acre property.

“The dream for this place is first of all to create awareness of the game,” Bumba told The Associated Press recently. “I personally want to become a brand ambassador of wrestling in East Africa."

A first step is a planned wrestling academy, which he sees as a benefit to many children who might otherwise be idle or trapped in crime. Many of the youth in or around the ring in this village 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the Ugandan capital, Kampala, have long dropped out of school.

Ugandan authorities have taken note, at first with suspicion.

Arthur Asiimwe, co-founder of Soft Ground Wrestling, said security officials visited the community in March and questioned him and Bumba about their objectives. The army officers wanted to know if the group was engaging in “dubious activities” and left after watching some bouts, he said.

Many of the 100 trainees don’t have a clear idea of where wrestling might lead, though they hope to represent Uganda on a global stage. For now, some live in a dorm where they have access to weightlifting equipment. Others come from their homes to wrestle or watch.

They include some aspiring female wrestlers. They said they saw no obstacles to wrestling. There's a sense of camaraderie with the young men. In a fundraising video posted on YouTube this year, a young woman appeals for support to have "a wrestling ring for the perfect, perfect matches" as male colleagues watch in the background.

Daphine Kisaakye, a young woman who wrestled one recent morning, said she was first exposed to it in 2019 as a domestic worker watching WWE televised fights.

“It was very amazing," she said.

Bumba has yet to find appropriate training facilities and health insurance for participants. Injury is a concern. He said all those who intend to wrestle receive months of training from him before they are permitted to venture into the ring.

One of the wrestlers, Jordan Ainemukama, said serious injures were rare, but some members have had minor incidents.

“So far I've never had an injury, a serious injury ... Like you have a shock and then you go to the clinic and then they prepare you like (for) two or three weeks,” he said. “Then you come back."

Ainemukama said he now knows how to take a landing in the makeshift ring: "Our coach always tells us that, ‘Safety first.’”

Ugandan youth celebrate after winning an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda, Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths train before an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youth prepare a ring before an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths lift weights before an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths have breakfast before an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

Ugandan youths perform an amateur wrestling tangle in the soft mud in Kampala, Uganda Wednesday, March. 20, 2023. The open-air training sessions, complete with an announcer and a referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the youth regularly see on television. While a pair tangles inside the ring, made with bamboo poles strung with sisal rope, others standing ringside cheer feints and muscular shows of strength. (AP Photo/Patrick Onen)

JERUSALEM (AP) — JERUSALEM — Israel’s main cable provider has halted broadcasts of the Al Jazeera news station, citing a ban on the channel approved Sunday by the government.

The “Hot” cable provider on Sunday afternoon turned off Al Jazeera’s broadcasts in both English and Arabic.

“In accordance with the government decision, broadcaster Al-Jazeera has stopped in Israel,” it said in a message on screen.

In Israel, the channel’s websites in Arabic and English remained operational, and the station could still be watched live on YouTube in both languages.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas militants on Sunday attacked Israel's main crossing point for delivering humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, reportedly wounding several Israelis and prompting Israel to close the terminal.

The attack disrupted critical shipments of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza, and dealt a new blow to ongoing cease-fire efforts mediated by Egypt and Qatar. In another potential setback, Israel said it was shuttering the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera satellite channel, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejected Hamas' latest demands and vowed to keep on fighting.

The Israeli military reported 10 launches at the Kerem Shalom crossing. Hamas said it had been targeting Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel's Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously.

Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing has become the primary gateway for badly needed humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The military said the crossing was immediately closed, halting deliveries of aid into hard-hit Gaza. It was unclear how long the closure would remain in effect.

The incident comes at a time when Gaza is facing a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, medicine and other humanitarian items.

The attack threatened to complicate the ongoing cease-fire talks in Egypt. A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in the cease-fire talks.

However, Israel hasn’t sent a delegation to Cairo and a senior Israeli official downplayed prospects for a full end to the war while emphasizing Israel's commitment to invading Rafah.

Egyptian and Hamas officials have said the deal calls for an extended pause in fighting in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. But the sides remain at odds over whether the deal would include an end to the war and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Netanyahu further lowered expectations on Sunday when he accused Hamas of making unacceptable demands.

While claiming that Israel has shown willingness to make concessions, he said: “Hamas has still held to its extreme positions, first and foremost the withdrawal of our forces from the strip, the conclusion of the war and leaving Hamas intact.”

"Israel will not agree to Hamas’s demands, which would mean surrender; it will continue fighting until all of its objectives are achieved,” he said.

Israel launched its war in response to Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7, which killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. An Israeli air and ground offensive has killed over 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced some 80% of Gaza's population and led to a humanitarian disaster.

Egypt and Qatar have been working with the United States to mediate a cease-fire.

On Sunday, Netanyahu's Cabinet approved a measure to shutter Qatar's Al Jazeera news channel, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The decision threatened to further disrupt the cease-fire talks. There was no immediate comment from Qatar.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press wroter Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Israel says Hamas attacks a crossing point into Gaza, wounding 10 Israelis and forcing its closure

In this image provided by the U.S. Army, soldiers assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) and sailors attached to the MV Roy P. Benavidez assemble the Roll-On, Roll-Off Distribution Facility (RRDF), or floating pier, off the shore of Gaza on April 26, 2024. The U.S. expects to have on-the-ground arrangements in Gaza ready for humanitarian workers to start delivering aid this month via a new U.S.-backed sea route for Gaza aid. An official with the U.S. Agency for International Development tells the AP that humanitarian groups expect to have their part of preparations complete by early to mid-month. (U.S. Army via AP)

Israel says Hamas attacks a crossing point into Gaza, wounding 10 Israelis and forcing its closure