( CNN ) -- Uganda is n't known for being a big player on the baseball field , but one man is hoping for a home run with his documentary about the sport . An American filmmaker has made what he describes as ' a love letter to the game sent from a place you 'd least expect . ' Jay Shapiro hopes that his snap shot of youth baseball in the East African country will raise the profile of the sport in a part of the world where he says it means so much to its players . `` I 'm constantly dissatisfied with the way people react to Africa and the third world in general , and that sort of became my goal to shift the way people think about Africa , '' Shapiro explained . `` What better way to shift the way Americans think about Africa better than baseball , the game they love and I love , too , '' he continued . His documentary , called Opposite Field , focuses on Uganda 's Little League Baseball network . A sport that may still be in its fledgling stages but is growing bigger by the day . Shapiro explains that he ended up in Uganda when he was doing commercial work for Major League Baseball . It was there that he met a man from Staten Island , called Richard Stanley , who was passionate about bringing the sport to Uganda . `` He showed me this stack of Polaroid pictures basically of a swamp in the middle of nowhere and he told me he 's going to build this beautiful baseball facility , '' he said . It was a project that Richard Stanley began working on in 2002 . Shapiro says that thanks to his hard work there are now two baseball fields in Uganda . But Shapiro says what really shocked him when he went to visit the fields was the kids . `` I was expecting to see some really basic baseball , kids just picking up a ball for the first time and learning how to throw or swing the bat , but that 's not what I saw , '' he said . `` They were really good , they knew how to play . '' Around 15,000 children are signed up to the league now but with about 700 gloves between them more funding is desperately needed . However , Shapiro says that it 's the lack of money that produces such impressive players in Uganda . `` These kids just play , they do n't even have a field to play on or a ball , they 'll make a ball out of plastic bag that they singe and just throw it , '' Shapiro said . `` That 's why they are so good ; they play for the right reasons . If they play because they love it , they 'll win , '' he said . The team Shapiro filmed did win . He followed a group of 11 and 12-year-old boys from the ghettos of Kampala , who became the first African team to ever qualify for the Little League World Series . Uganda youth baseball team denied U.S. visas over age discrepancies . The team was due to play in the tournament in Williamsport , Pennsylvania but issues with their visas meant they could n't enter America . `` As everyone knows , documentation is a problem , not just for Uganda and not just baseball , but 1 billion kids in the world do n't have documentation for who they are or how old they are , '' Shapiro said . Birth certificates are not routinely given out in Uganda and many people do not know the day they were born . In order to travel a certificate and passport is needed , but it 's a costly process . A statement on the Little League 's website says that if the problems can not be ironed out , Little League Baseball and Softball in Africa will only be for the wealthy . Shapiro hopes his film will address some of the challenges facing the sport in Uganda so it can continue to grow . `` It is baseball at its purest form , its baseball for the love of it , its baseball ... where there should n't be baseball so you have to love it to make it grow . '' The filmmaker says that it 's this love of baseball that joins kids together against a backdrop of personal tragedy . One boy that features in the documentary is Ivan , who lives in an equipment shed with up to 8 people . Shapiro says that despite the daily hardships he faces , he is an incredible baseball player . `` He does a lot of things you ca n't teach , he has a natural hand-eye coordination , you just see , his story could end up somewhere special , '' he said . `` He strikes you as this shy , timid , quiet boy but when he gets on the field , he 's the leader , he 's the loudest one out there , holding huddles for the team , but he 's the man , and I love watching that . '' Emily Wither contributed to this report .
An American filmmaker has made a documentary about Little League Baseball in Uganda . Around 200 children are signed up to the league in the country . An African team became the first ever to qualify for the Little League World Series . The team did n't make it to Japan because of visa issues .