Uganda Cubs are the winners of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – CECAFA qualifiers.

Coach Brian Ssenyondo’s team came from a goal down to defeat Tanzania 2-1 in an entertaining final played at the Nakivubo Hamz Stadium in Kampala on Friday.

It was Abel Josiah Samson who gave Tanzania the lead after only 11 minutes. He received a good pass and dribbled past one defender before shooting past Uganda’s goalkeeper Edrisah Waibi.

The Uganda Cubs continued to press the Tanzanian team and created many scoring opportunities, but the Tanzanian defenders were up to the task.

After recess Uganda’s Arafat Nkoola’s header hit the post after 56 minutes. The Uganda Cubs continued to attack in numbers and their search for goals paid off when Nkoola nodded in a well taken Elvis Torach cross after 64 minutes.

The Tanzanian team fell back and defended for long spells of the match as Uganda intensified their search for more goals.

With the cloak ticking away James Bogere scored Uganda’s second goal from a tight angle past Tanzania’s goalkeeper Abrahman Nassoro after 89 minutes. T was also Bogere’s seventh goal in the tournament.

It was all celebrations for the local fans after the final whistle. “I am happy that the players continued to fight even after conceding a goal and win the match,” said a happy Ugandan coach Ssenyondo after the match.

In an earlier play-off match Somali beat South Sudan 4-2 in penalty shootouts after the match had ended 2-2.

The CECAFA first Vice President Augustino Madout Parek, Second Vice President Alexandre Muyengye and Exco Member Doris Petra, together with the FUFA President Moses Hassim Magogo and the Ugandan State Minister for Sports Petr Ogwang also attended the Awards ceremony.

Both Uganda and Tanzania have qualified to represent the CECAFA Zone at the TotalEnergies CAFA U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 that will take place in Morocco.

Uganda and Tanzania have qualified to represent the CECAFA Zone at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 in Morocco.

The two teams secured qualification on Tuesday after Tanzania stopped South Sudan 4-0, and Uganda saw off Somalia 4-1 in the semi final matches played at the Nakivubo Hamz Stadium in Kampala.

In the first match Tanzania took a 3-0 first half lead with goals by Hussein Mbegu, Ng’habi Zamu and Abel Josiah Samson.

After recess the South Sudan team tried to fight back, but still failed to dominate the Tanzanian team. Substitute Juma Abushiri made it 4-0 for Tanzania after 52 minutes.

Later South Sudan earned a penalty after 67 minutes after defender Idrisa Kilendewo handled the ball in the box. Tanzanian goalkeeper Abrahman Massoro saved Lazarus Peter George Laku’s penalty kick.

Aggrey Morris Ambros, the Tanzanian head coach said he was happy that his players have worked hard to qualify. “I thank my team for the work well done,” added Ambros.

In the second match the hosts Uganda dominated play to dispatch Somalia.

After missing so many scoring opportunities, Uganda Cubs took the lead at the stroke of halftime with a goal by Abubakali Walusimbi.

In the second half Anas Mohamed had a shot for Somalia that was parried out by the Ugandan goalkeeper Edrisah Waibi after 49 minutes.

But the Ugandan team cheered on by the home supporters continued to push forward and increased their lead with a goal by James Bogere after 58 minutes.

Later substitute Ibrahim Osman utilized his chance when he beat a Ugandan defender and pulled a goal back for Somalia after 70 minutes.

Somalia continued to push forward, but failed to score more goals, as the Uganda Cubs turned on the magic to score two more goals. In the last six minutes of added time Bogere scored two more goals to take his tally to six goals.

“I am delighted that the boys have worked hard and qualified for the U-17 AFCON and also reached the final. We now need to go back to the drawing board and plan for the final against Tanzania,” said Uganda’s coach Brian Ssenyondo.

The third and fourth play-off between South Sudan and Somalia, together with the final between Tanzania and Uganda will be played on December 27th, 2024.

The head coach of Somalia’s U-17 team, Mohamed Abdulkhadir Shikhdon has warned that his team is well prepared to face Uganda in the semi-final of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – CECAFA qualifiers on Tusday.

South Sudan will face Tanzania in the first semi-final tie this afternoon, while Somalia, the reigning champions of the U-17 CECAFA Zone battle hosts Uganda. The matches will take place at the Nakivubo Hamz Stadium in Kampala.

Shikhdon who is based in Sweden has made it clear that after struggling to qualify for the knock out stage, they are more than hungry to prove a point when they face Uganda.

“We know what to expect against Uganda because we also beat them at the same level in 2022 in Ethiopia. We are going to be very cautious and also try to be sharp at goal because we have been missing several scoring opportunities,” added the Somalia coach.

Uganda’s coach Brian Ssenyondo has also made it clear that the knock out stage is very different and his players must be very sharp at goal, while the defending department is very alert to close out the opponents. “We must play as a team and kill of the game early,” added Ssenyondo.

To reach the semis Uganda topped Group A after drawing 1-1 with Tanzania and humbling Kenya 5-0 in the last group match. Somalia started their campaign with a 3-0 defeat to South Sudan, and struggled to defeat Sudan 1-0 in their deciding Group B match.

The earlier semi-final clash promises to be a tight battle. 

Nasir Yousif Hassen Bakit, the South Sudan coach has made it clear that although they won their first two matches, the semi-final stage is different and his players must double their efforts. “I have told my players to work harder because a win at this stage means we qualify for the U-17 AFCON,” he added.

The Tanzanian coach Aggrey Morris Ambros also pointed out that they must keep close watch of South Sudan’s attacking force that has scored four goals in their two matches. “We need to be very organized and hungry to win,” added the former Tanzanian International.

The best two teams will qualify for the 2025 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to take place in Morocco.

Collected results

Somalia 0 South Sudan3

Uganda 1 Tanzania1

Tanzania 1 Kenya 0

South Sudan 1 Sudan 0

Somalia 1 Sudan 0

Uganda 5 Kenya 0

Hosts Uganda and Somalia have qualified for the semi-final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – CECAFA qualifiers.

Somalia, the 2022 Zonal champions needed a late goal to see off Sudan 1-0 in Group B tie played at the Nakivubo Hamz Stadium in Kampala on Saturday.

Sakariye Mohamed netted the vital goal for the Somalia team two minutes into added time to send the Somalian fans into celebrations.

“We are very happy that we kept strong and pushed on till we scored the vital goal,” said Somalia’s assistant coach Muqtar Ali.

In the second match the hosts Uganda Cubs humbled Kenya 5-0 to finish top of Group A ahead of Tanzania.

Uganda netted three goals in the first half with James Bogere converting an early penalty and added his second before the interval. Isima Mulala Magala also got his name on the score sheet in the first half.

After recess Bogere netted his third goal after 58 minutes after the Kenyan defending line again failed to close out spaces. Substitute Simon Wanyama also made sure he increased Uganda’s lead to five goals with a hard shot after 78 minutes.

Uganda will now face Somalia in the second semi-final match, while South Sudan battle Tanzania on December 24^th, 2024. The finalists will automatically qualify for the TotalEergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to take place next year in Morocco.