Uganda Cranes on the hunt for a third successive AFCON qualification

Posted on Nov 13, 2019
By Ssekamatte Vicent

Here Blizz Uganda takes you through a brief history of Uganda Cranes in the tournament.

Uganda Cranes yesterday 12th November, 2019 successfully landed in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso amidst quest for a third successive Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign.

Uganda will today 13th November, 2019 start their campaign against Burkina Faso alias "The Stallions" in Ouagadougou at Stade du 4 Août 1983, at 10 PM local time.

Uganda is grouped in group B along Burkina Faso, South Sudan and Malawi, should the Cranes qualify after home and away tied against all opponents, they will have done it for the 8th time.

With Uganda and Burkina Faso the bogey sides in the group, Uganda's qualification this time around will mean they have qualified for a third successive AFCON tournament for the first time since 1978. The 1978 tournament marked the third successive tournament Uganda had qualified for after the Cranes had played in 1974 and 1976 tournaments.

The @UgandaCranes at their last training session on Tuesday evening at Stade Du 4 Aout in Ouagadougou. #BFAUGA #AFCON2021Q pic.twitter.com/p9pXFLuCzL
— FUFA (@OfficialFUFA) November 12, 2019

Uganda's previous AFCON Finals participated in.

Uganda Cranes has participated in seven AFCON tournaments with 1962 held in Ethiopia their first. In 1962, the Cranes played two matches and lost all of them to finish fourth. The next tournament that Uganda indulged in was also in Ethiopia in 1968, Uganda played 3 matches and didn't win any and thus finished eighth.

Uganda's third tournament was hosted in Egypt in 1974, Uganda finished sixth after playing three matches and managing one draw, the first time the Cranes managed to salvage a point in the tournament. Uganda then qualified for the second successive tournament in 1976 for the first time in history but didn't get a point as they lost all 3 matches and hence finished eighth.

Uganda's fifth qualification in AFCON tournament was and still stands as the best performance in the country's football history as they made it to finals.

In the tournament hosted in Accra-Ghana, Uganda manifested the best ever performance as they stormed the finals in which they lost 2:0 to title winners and hosts Ghana. Thanks to two goals from Afriyie Opuku.

From that day, Uganda's qualification to the tournament had become a myth for 39 years not until 2017 when Uganda returned to the tournament held in Gabon. On return, Uganda didn't go past the group stages as they managed only one draw to finish 13th in the tournament. The next tournament in Egypt, Uganda's seventh, had some fruits as the Sebastian Desabre side managed to go to the last sixteen round but lost to eventual runners up Senegal.