Uganda national football team

History

The Uganda Cranes made their debut on 1 May 1926 against Kenya, drawing 1–1. In 1962, they qualified for their Africa Cup of Nations debut in the third edition of the tournament, which included only 4 teams. In the semi-finals, the Cranes were defeated and eliminated by the United Arab Republic (2–1), and then lost the third-place match against Tunisia (3–0).

The Cranes returned to the Africa Cup of Nations in 1974, where they were eliminated in the first round following 2 defeats against Egypt and Zambia and a draw against Ivory Coast. In 1976, they were eliminated in the first round, being defeated by Ethiopia, Egypt and Guinea.

In the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, the Cranes finished second in the group stages defeating the Republic of Congo (3–1) and Morocco (3–0) and lost 3–1 to Tunisia. In the semi-finals they eliminated Nigeria (2–1), and in the finals they were defeated by Ghana (2–0).

In 2017 the Cranes qualified for the African Cup of Nations again after 39 years. They finished the tournament in the first round after two consecutive 1–0 losses to Ghana and Egypt and a 1–1 draw against Mali.

In the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, the Cranes progressed to the second round with a 4–0 aggregate win against Togo, and were drawn into a group with Egypt, Ghana and the Republic of Congo. They finished the group with 2 0–0 draws against Ghana, a win and a draw against the Republic of Congo and a victory against Egypt followed by a defeat at the home of the Pharaohs. The 9 points won were not enough for Uganda to qualify against the 13 of the Egyptians who finished first in the standings.

In the qualifiers for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Cranes cruised through qualifiers against Tanzania, Cape Verde and Lesotho. In the competition proper, a 2–0 victory against DR Congo meant that the Uganda Cranes had won their first match in the competition for 41 years. In the other 2 games of the group Uganda obtained a draw against Zimbabwe (1–1) and a defeat against the hosts Egypt (2–0) qualifying in second place, to be eliminated in the round of 16 by Senegal (1–0). They qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after South Sudan beat Congo 3–2 on November 14, 2024.

Team image

Home stadium

Main article: Mandela National Stadium

The Mandela National Stadium was closed for renovation in 2019 after the outbreak of COVID-19 after it failed to reach the minimum standards required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host international matches. In 2020, the stadium was blacklisted from hosting football games due to its substandard condition. Reconstruction works, undertaken by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, began in 2022, and included the installation of a permanent seats in the stadium, new dressing rooms, a modern scoreboard, as well as the refurbishment of floodlights and the pitch.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Uganda national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

• Mutyaba

2025

• Pepo
• Ratifo
• Shaban
• Mato
• Manneh Mato Capradossi Ssemugabi
• Lorenzen
• Achai
• Saibari
• Rahimi
• El Khannouss
• Achouri
• Mato
• Onyedika

Coaching staff

Coaching history

:Interim coaches are listed in italics.

• ENG Alan Rogers (1965–1966)
• UGA Robert Kiberu (19??–1969, 1988–1989)
• FRG Burkhard Pape (1969–1972)
• UGA David Otti (1973–1974)
• FRG Otto Westerhoff (1974–1975)
• UGA Peter Okee (1976–1981, 1983)
• UGA Jaberi Bidandi Ssali (1982)
• UGA George Mukasa (1984–1985)
• UGA Barnabas Mwesiga (1986–1988)
• UGA Polly Ouma (1989–1995)
• UGA Timothy Ayieko (1995–1996)
• UGA Asuman Lubowa (1996–1999)
• UGA Paul Hasule (1999, 2001–2003)
• NGA Harrison Okagbue (1999–2001)
• ARG Pedro Pasculli (2003)
• UGA Leo Adraa (2003–2004)
• UGA Mike Mutebi (2004)
• EGY Mohammed Abbas (2004–2006)
• HUN Csaba László (2006–2008)
• SCO Bobby Williamson (2008–2013)
• SRB Milutin Sredojević (2013–2017)
• UGA Moses Basena and UGA Fred Kajoba (2017)
• FRA Sébastien Desabre (2017–2019)
• UGA Abdallah Mubiru (2019, 2021)
• NIR Johnny McKinstry (2019–2021)
• SRB Milutin Sredojević (2021–2023)
• UGA Morley Beyekwaso (2023)
• BEL Paul Put (2023-present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between 21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026.

Caps and goals are correct as of 30 December 2025, after the match against Nigeria.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up in the last 12 months. DEC Refused to join the team after the call-up.

INJ Withdrew due to an injury.

PRE Preliminary squad.

RET Has retired from international association football.

SUS Suspended from the team.

WD Withdrew.

Player records

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Africa Cup of Nations

African Nations Championship

African Games

CECAFA Cup

Main article: CECAFA Cup

(1973–2023)

• CECAFA Cup – ** Gold medal** 15 times

• CECAFA Cup – ** Silver medal** 5 times

• CECAFA Cup – ** Bronze medal** 7 times

Other tournaments

Head-to-head record

Completely updated and corrected per the cited source on 30 December 2025

Note: Country in italic is not a member of FIFA.

Source:

Honours

Continental

• CAF African Cup of Nations
  • Runners-up (1): 1978

Regional

• CECAFA Cup
  • Champions (15): 1973, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019
  • Runners-up (5): 1974, 1982, 1994, 1995, 2000
  • Third place (7): 1983, 1984, 1987, 1991, 2007, 2010, 2017

Friendly

• Gossage Cup / Challenge Cup (25): 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960 (shared), 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970

Awards

• African National Team of the Year (1): 2016

Summary

References

References

1. Muyita, Joel. (2024-04-24). "FUFA confirms Uganda Premier League games to be used in soft opening of Mandela National Stadium".
2. (January 21, 2023). "Namboole stadium to be ready by June – UPDF Engineering Brigade". The Independent.
3. Zziwa, Hassan Badru. (25 May 2009). "Rise and fall of Cranes coaches". The Observer.
4. "Rise and fall of Uganda Cranes tacticians". Soccer256 online.
5. "Johnny McKinstry unveiled as Uganda Cranes coach".
6. (6 December 2025). "TotalEnergies AFCON 2025: Put Names Uganda Cranes Squad". Federation of Uganda Football Associations.
7. "Uganda".
8. FIFA.com. "FIFA Tournaments – Compare Teams – FIFA.com".
9. (29 March 2021). "Uganda".
10. (29 March 2021). "Uganda - Historical results".