Saturday April 12
The dream of reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup remains to be alive for the Uganda U-17 Males’s Nationwide Crew, fondly often known as the Cubs, who now face a decisive playoff towards Gambia for a spot on the 2025 world showpiece in Qatar.
Regardless of an early exit from the prolonged 16-team U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after ending third in Group A, the Cubs have been handed a lifeline. A 1-0 loss to Zambia of their closing group match noticed Uganda bow out with simply three factors from three video games, lacking out on a direct ticket to the World Cup. However their journey isn’t over but.
In keeping with CAF’s revised qualification construction, Africa will ship ten representatives to the 2025 U-17 World Cup. Whereas the eight AFCON quarterfinalists have already sealed their locations, the remaining two slots will probably be decided by playoffs involving the 4 third-placed groups from the group stage.
Uganda will now face Gambia in one in all these essential playoff matches on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida, Morocco. The opposite playoff will see Egypt tackle Angola in a equally high-stakes encounter.
The fixture towards Gambia poses a big problem. Not like Uganda, who’re nonetheless searching for their debut on the world stage, Gambia boasts earlier World Cup expertise, having participated within the match twice in 2005 and 2009.
Nevertheless, the Cubs are not any strangers to what it takes to qualify. In 2020, Uganda made historical past by qualifying for the U-17 World Cup for the primary time, just for the match to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That missed alternative nonetheless lingers within the minds of many, making this playoff an opportunity not just for redemption but in addition for historical past.
