Uganda Cubs have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 to take place in Qatar.

Under head coach Laryea Kingston, the determined Ugandan team defeated Ghana 8-7 in penalty shoot-outs in one of the second play-off match played on Saturday night at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.

Uganda leveled late in the match to make it 2-2 before the match was decided on penalties. Eric Gyamfi gave Ghana the lead after 9 minutes, but Owen Mukisa leveled matters to make it 1-1 after 34 minutes.

After recess Ghana again found space in the Ugandan backline to make it 2-1 after 51 minutes through Abdul Latif. With one minute of added time Uganda were awarded a penalty and Arafat Ibanda made no mistake from the spot.

Uganda converted all her eight penalties, while Jacob Kpoeti missed for Ghana to hand the Cubs the opportunity to book a lost in their second straight FIFA U-17 World Cup.

In an earlier play-off another CECAFA team failed to book a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup after losing 5-4 to Mozambique during penalty kicks after the match had tied 1-1.

CECAFA will now be represented by Tanzania and Uganda at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Tanzania will continue at the quarter final stage when they face Algeria on Sunday in a quarter final stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on-going in Morocco.

The Serengeti Boys of Tanzania will face Algeria in the quarter final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

After stopping Mozambique and Angola by a 3-0 goal margin in the first two matches of Group C, Tanzania lost the last match 2-1, but remained top of the log.

The Tanzania team that has already booked a slot for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 will now take on Algeria in a quarter final match on May 24^th. The winner will take on the winner between Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt at the semi final stage.

Elieneza Nsanganzelu, the Tanzania head coach said that they are happy to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup and now look forward to performing well in the knock out stage of the AFCON U-17.

“We have achieved the first mission and now we are targeting the second mission which is winning the AFCON U-17 title,” says Nsanganzelu.

In the other quarter final matches hosts Morocco will face Cameroon, while Senegal take on Mali.

CECAFA teams Uganda and Ethiopia will also have the opportunity of qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup when they face Ghana and Mozambique respectively on May 23^rd.

The top two teams in each of the four groups already earned direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, while the four in the play-off battle for the remaining two places. A total of 10 teams will represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026 in Qatar.

Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Ethiopia and Uganda have battled through to secure FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier play-off slots.

The two teams battled to secure valuable points in their last group matches on Tuesday at the on-going TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Rabat, Morocco.

Uganda Cubs converted a late penalty through Arafat Ibanda to secure a 2-2 draw against Group B table leaders Cote d’Ivoire and book a place in the plat-off.

Koudougnon Brebo gave Code d’Ivoire the lead after 25 minutes, but Henry Muhoozi leveled matters 15 minutes later. With 11 minutes to full time Souleymane Kone netted the second goal for the West Africans, but Uganda were lucky to get a penalty and convert it.

Although they failed to qualify for the quarter final stage of the U-17 AFCON, Uganda Cubs finished third in the group to secure the play-off place for the FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier against the team that will finish third in Group D.

Ethiopia who were on the brink of elimination also netted late through substitute Amir Misbah. Ethiopia who finished third with 4 points behind Morocco and Egypt will now face the third placed team in Group C in the play-off for a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

Tanzania who play their last Group C match against Mali have already qualified for the quarter final stage of the AFCOn U-17 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

The top two teams in each of the four groups earn direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, while the other two slots are determined via a playoffs.

A total of 10 teams will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

Tanzania have booked a place in the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The Serengeti Boys secured their placed after recoring a second consecutive win at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

They opened their campaign with a 3-0 win against Mozambique in Group C few days ago, and followed up with another similar score against Angola on Sunday.

Razaki Mbegelendi gave Tanzania the lead in the first half, while Hassan Kazingo and Sadam Hamis added two second half goals to make sure Serengeti Boys maintained their 100% winning run.

On Saturday CECAFA’s other two teams Uganda and Ethiopia suffered defeats. Uganda lost 1-0 to Cameroon in a Group B match, while Ethiopia fell 2-1 to hosts Morocco in a Group A contest.

Ethiopia and Uganda will return to action in their last group matches on May 19^th against Tunisia and Ivory Coast respectively. Tanzania will play their last Group C match against Mali on May 20^th.

The top two teams in each of the four groups earn direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, while the other two slots are determined via a playoffs. A total of 10 teams will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.