SE Dons' Goalkeeper About to Become King of Uganda

Every so often non-league football throws up a story that has nothing to do with results, tables, or cup runs, and this is one of them. George Desmond Kamurasi, the 36-year-old goalkeeper and captain of SE Dons, has been selected as the next omukama ( king) of the Tooro people in Uganda.

Kamurasi, known to teammates at the Bexleyheath club as "Big G", was put forward following the death of his cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, last month. A royal succession committee met to decide on Oyo's replacement, and by most accounts the vote wasn't close - 15 of the 18 members present backed Kamurasi. A formal proclamation is expected once Oyo's burial takes place this weekend.

A familiar face for SE Dons fans

For anyone who's followed SE Dons over the past few years, this isn't entirely out of nowhere in terms of Kamurasi's profile at the club, even if the royal angle absolutely is. The club, founded in 2014 by rapper Don Strapzy, built its following through YouTube before working its way into the pyramid proper, and its content, much of it featuring Kamurasi front and centre  has amassed a following well beyond what you'd expect for a ninth-tier side. He's exactly the sort of character that content thrives on, which makes the idea of him trading gloves for a crown feel both completely surreal and, in a strange way, fitting.

A reluctant king?

What happens next is genuinely uncertain. Reports out of Uganda suggest Kamurasi is reluctant to leave his life in south-east London, where he lives with his wife and son, to take up a role leading a kingdom of roughly 800,000 people. Refusing the position isn't straightforward either; it's said to be viewed as a serious breach of custom.

Business as usual, for now

In the meantime, football carries on regardless of what's happening several thousand miles away. SE Dons reached the FA Cup second qualifying round with that win over Erith Town, and there's a very real chance Kamurasi could be back between the posts against Chichester City before any of this is formally resolved - quite possibly the only goalkeeper in the country juggling a cup tie with the small matter of becoming a monarch.