Africa-Press – Uganda. Ruth Aturo could not have taken a better dive into Finnish football.
The Ugandan custodian moved to second tier side Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (KTP) in February and has loved working under the radar and for every bead of sweat as the season has culminated into promotion to the top league.
“Starting there (second division) was good for the start,” said Aturo, who had “no option but to adapt” to food, weather changes and a completely new environment in Kotka.
The pressure, albeit mild, mostly came from competition for game time between her and her teammates Sonja Leino and Essi Domineering but for the first three months, she also had to cope with keeping form ahead of Uganda’s first return to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in 22 years.
KTP topped their second division group in regular season then eliminated Espoo Palloseura in the first round playoffs.
They then built on the 2-2 home draw on October 15 to beat RoPS 2-1 away last Saturday in order to secure promotion to the top league with a 4-3 aggregate win.
“Promotion is just a step to the next level that every player wished for,” Aturo told Daily Monitor.
“We want to show we belong to the topflight. I think the league resumes in March so I will take a good rest and return with targets to make my team perform well come next season,” she added.
AT A GLANCE
Name: Ruth Aturo
Club: KTP Kotka (Finland)
Local clubs: Kawempe Muslim, UCU Lady Cardinals
Date of birth: July 19, 1995
National team
Major tournaments: U-20 World Cup qualifiers 2013, Cecafa 2016, Cecafa 2018, Cecafa 2019, Cosafa 2018, Cosafa 2021, Awcon qualifiers 2018, Olympic qualifiers 2019, Awcon qualifiers 2021, Awcon 2022
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