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Uganda national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Uganda women's national football team.

Uganda
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Cranes
The Red Devils
AssociationFederation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCECAFA (East & Central Africa)
Head coachPaul Put
CaptainKhalid Aucho
Most capsGodfrey Walusimbi (105)
Top scorerEmmanuel Okwi (28)
Home stadiumMandela National Stadium
FIFA codeUGA
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 88 Decrease 3 (19 January 2026)[1]
Highest62 (January 2016)
Lowest152 (July 2002)
First international
 Kenya 1–1 Uganda 
(Nairobi, Kenya; 1 May 1926)
Biggest win
 Uganda 13–1 Kenya 
(Uganda; 14 December 1932)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 6–0 Uganda 
(Alexandria, Egypt; 30 July 1995)
 Tunisia 6–0 Uganda 
(Tunis, Tunisia; 28 February 1999)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances8 (first in 1962)
Best resultRunners-up (1978)
African Nations Championship
Appearances6 (first in 2011)
Best resultQuarter final (2024)
COSAFA Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2019)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2019)
CECAFA Cup
Appearances38 (first in 1973)
Best resultChampions (1973, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
Websitefufa.co.ug

The Uganda national football team, also known as the Uganda Cranes or the Uganda Red Devils, represents Uganda in international football and is controlled by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations.

History

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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

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Home stadium

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Main article: Mandela National Stadium
Mandela National Stadium prior to redevelopment

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.[3] In 2020, the stadium was blacklisted from hosting football games due to its substandard condition.[4] 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.[4]

The new redeveloped Mandela National Stadium. View from Section 1 with only the expanded roof and seating yet to be completed

Results and fixtures

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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.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

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19 November AFCON qualification Congo  0–1  Uganda Brazzaville, Congo
13:00 UTC+1 Report
  • Mutyaba 55'
 Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)

2025

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20 March 2026 World Cup qualification Mozambique  3–1  Uganda Cairo, Egypt
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Cairo International Stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Pierre Ghislain Atcho (Gabon)
25 March 2026 World Cup qualification Uganda  1–0  Guinea Kampala, Uganda
19:00 UTC+3 Okello 36' Report Stadium: Mandela National Stadium
Attendance: 25,000
9 June Friendly Uganda  1–1  Gambia Marrakesh, Morocco
16:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
5 September 2026 World Cup qualification Uganda  4–0  Mozambique Kampala, Uganda
19:00 UTC+3 Okello 48'
Mato 70', 84'
Capradossi 90'		 Report Stadium: Mandela National Stadium
Referee: Kalilou Ibrahim Traoré (Ivory Coast)
8 September 2026 World Cup qualification Uganda  2–0  Somalia Kampala, Uganda
19:00 UTC+3 Okello 6' (pen.)
Ssemugabi 39'		 Report Stadium: Mandela National Stadium
Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)
9 October 2026 World Cup qualification Botswana  0–1  Uganda Francistown, Botswana
18:00 UTC+2 Report Ssemugabi 54' Stadium: Obed Itani Chilume Stadium
Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)
14 October 2026 World Cup qualification Algeria  2–1  Uganda Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
17:00 UTC+1 Amoura 81' (pen.), 90+9' (pen.) Report Mukwala 6' Stadium: Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium
Attendance: 500
Referee: Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall (Mauritius)
14 November Friendly Uganda  2–1  Chad Berrechid, Morocco
 Report
Stadium: Stade Municipal De Berrechid
18 November Friendly Morocco  4–0  Uganda Tangier, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Ibn Batouta Stadium
Referee: Ousmane Diakate (Mali)
23 December 2025 AFCON GS Tunisia  3–1  Uganda Rabat, Morocco
21:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Rabat Olympic Stadium
Referee: Patrice Mebiame (Gabon)
27 December 2025 AFCON GS Uganda  1–1  Tanzania Rabat, Morocco
18:30 UTC+1 Ikpeazu 80' Report Msuva 59' (pen.) Stadium: Al Medina Stadium
Attendance: 10,540
Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)
30 December 2025 AFCON GS Uganda  1–3  Nigeria Fez, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Fez Stadium
Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin)

Coaching staff

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Position Staff
Head coach Belgium Paul Put
Assistant coach Uganda Sam Ssimbwa
Performance manager Belgium Sven De Wilde
Goalkeeper coach Belgium Gery Oste
Physical coach Belgium Mathieu Denis
Physiotherapist & Fitness coach Belgium Arthur Naudts
Video analyst Belgium Jelle Sevenhant
Team Doctor Belgium Arnaud Depraetere

Coaching history

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Interim coaches are listed in italics.[5][6][7]

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between 21 December 2025 – 18 January 2026.[8]

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

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Nafian Alionzi (1996-03-01) 1 March 1996 (age 29) 8 0 Ethiopian Football Federation Defence Force
18 1GK Denis Onyango (vice-captain) (1985-05-15) 15 May 1985 (age 40) 84 0 South African Football Association Mamelodi Sundowns
19 1GK Salim Magoola (1995-05-27) 27 May 1995 (age 30) 17 0 South African Football Association Richards Bay
2 2DF Rogers Torach (2003-06-23) 23 June 2003 (age 22) 7 1 Federation of Uganda Football Associations Vipers
3 2DF Timothy Awany (1996-08-06) 6 August 1996 (age 29) 40 0 Israel Football Association Ashdod
5 2DF Toby Sibbick (1999-05-23) 23 May 1999 (age 26) 9 0 The Football Association Burton Albion
13 2DF Elio Capradossi (1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 (age 29) 11 1 Romanian Football Federation Universitatea Cluj
15 2DF Jordan Obita (1993-12-08) 8 December 1993 (age 32) 10 0 Scottish Football Association Hibernian
20 2DF Isaac Muleme (1992-10-10) 10 October 1992 (age 33) 49 0 Football Association of the Czech Republic Viktoria Žižkov
23 2DF Aziz Kayondo (2002-10-06) 6 October 2002 (age 23) 36 2 Football Association of the Czech Republic Slovan Liberec
26 2DF Hilary Mukundane (1997-12-22) 22 December 1997 (age 28) 8 0 Federation of Uganda Football Associations Vipers
4 3MF Kenneth Semakula (2002-11-14) 14 November 2002 (age 23) 35 0 Saudi Arabian Football Federation Al-Adalah
6 3MF Bobosi Byaruhanga (2001-12-03) 3 December 2001 (age 24) 27 0 United States Soccer Federation Oakland Roots
8 3MF Khalid Aucho (captain) (1993-08-08) 8 August 1993 (age 32) 73 2 Tanzania Football Federation Singida Black Stars
10 3MF Travis Mutyaba (2005-08-07) 7 August 2005 (age 20) 29 2 Tunisian Football Federation Sfaxien
12 3MF Baba Alhassan (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 (age 26) 4 0 Romanian Football Federation FCSB
16 3MF Ronald Ssekiganda (1995-09-13) 13 September 1995 (age 30) 12 1 Rwanda Football Federation APR
21 3MF Allan Okello (2000-07-04) 4 July 2000 (age 25) 35 6 Federation of Uganda Football Associations Vipers
7 4FW Rogers Mato (1998-10-20) 20 October 1998 (age 27) 39 7 Football Federation of Macedonia Vardar Skopje
9 4FW Uche Ikpeazu (1995-02-28) 28 February 1995 (age 30) 6 1 Scottish Football Association St Johnstone
11 4FW Steven Mukwala (1999-07-15) 15 July 1999 (age 26) 28 2 Tanzania Football Federation Simba
14 4FW Denis Omedi (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 29) 20 4 Rwanda Football Federation APR
17 4FW Reagan Mpande (2000-05-07) 7 May 2000 (age 25) 7 1 Federation of Uganda Football Associations Villa
22 4FW Jude Ssemugabi (1997-03-03) 3 March 1997 (age 28) 18 4 Sudan Football Association Jamus
24 4FW James Bogere (2008-02-02) 2 February 2008 (age 17) 2 0 Federation of Uganda Football Associations Masaka Sunshine
25 4FW Shafik Nana Kwikiriza (2004-03-03) 3 March 2004 (age 21) 1 0 Federation of Uganda Football Associations KCCA
27 4FW Melvyn Lorenzen (1994-11-26) 26 November 1994 (age 31) 3 0 Football Association of Thailand Muangthong United
28 4FW Ivan Ahimbisibwe (1995-11-23) 23 November 1995 (age 30) 4 1 Federation of Uganda Football Associations KCCA

Recent call-ups

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The following players have been called up in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Charles Lukwago (1993-12-11) 11 December 1993 (age 32) 24 0 Uganda KCCA 2025 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK Hannington Sebwalunyo (1989-05-28) 28 May 1989 (age 36) 0 0 Uganda NEC v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
GK Joel Mutakubwa (1994-07-17) 17 July 1994 (age 31) 8 0 Uganda BUL v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
GK Ismail Watenga (1995-05-15) 15 May 1995 (age 30) 38 0 South Africa Lamontville Golden Arrows v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
DF Gavin Kizito (2002-01-14) 14 January 2002 (age 24) 14 0 Uganda KCCA v.  Algeria, 14 October 2025
DF Herbert Achai (1999-08-08) 8 August 1999 (age 26) 2 0 Uganda KCCA v.  Algeria, 14 October 2025
DF Elvis Bwomono (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 27) 13 0 Scotland St Mirren v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
DF Arnold Odong (1999-03-02) 2 March 1999 (age 26) 0 0 Uganda Villa v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
DF Nicholas Wadada (1994-07-27) 27 July 1994 (age 31) 63 1 Uganda Vipers v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
DF Bevis Mugabi (1995-05-01) 1 May 1995 (age 30) 26 1 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta v.  Guinea, 25 March 2025
MF David Owori (1998-09-23) 23 September 1998 (age 27) 0 0 Uganda Villa 2025 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Allan Oyirwoth (2007-01-23) 23 January 2007 (age 19) 4 0 United States New England Revolution v.  Algeria, 14 October 2025
MF Enock Ssebaggala (2000-07-28) 28 July 2000 (age 25) 1 0 Uganda Vipers v.  Algeria, 14 October 2025
MF Karim Watambala (2000-03-03) 3 March 2000 (age 25) 18 0 Uganda Vipers v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
FW Joseph Mpande (1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 31) 15 2 Vietnam PVF-CAND v.  Algeria, 14 October 2025
FW Arafati Usama (1998-06-27) 27 June 1998 (age 27) 4 0 Uganda KCCA v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
FW Muhammad Shaban (1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 28) 28 3 Libya Al-Anwar Al-Abyar v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
FW Patrick Kakande (2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 (age 22) 5 0 Uganda Villa v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
FW Hakim Kiwanuka (2000-09-11) 11 September 2000 (age 25) 6 1 Rwanda APR v.  Gambia, 9 June 2025
FW Calvin Kabuye (2003-03-28) 28 March 2003 (age 22) 1 0 Sweden Mjällby v.  Guinea, 25 March 2025

Player records

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As of 9 October 2025[9]
Players in bold are still active with Uganda.
Most appearances
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Godfrey Walusimbi 105 3 2009–2019
2 Emmanuel Okwi 95 28 2009–2023
3 Simeon Masaba 88 6 2002–2013
4 Tony Mawejje 86 8 2003–2018
5 Denis Onyango 83 0 2005–present
6 Hassan Wasswa 81 0 2006–2019
7 Farouk Miya 79 23 2014–2023
Khalid Aucho 79 2 2013–present
9 Andrew Mwesigwa 75 7 2003–2014
10 Geoffrey Massa 72 22 2005–2017
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Emmanuel Okwi 28 95 0.29 2009–2023
2 Farouk Miya 23 79 0.29 2014–2023
3 Geoffrey Massa 22 72 0.31 2005–2017
4 Majid Musisi 20 29 0.69 1987–2000
5 Hassan Mubiru 18 63 0.29 1998–2007
6 David Obua 16 36 0.44 2003–2011
7 Geoffrey Sserunkuma 14 54 0.26 2002–2017
8 Brian Umony 12 36 0.33 2009–2015
9 Jackson Mayanja 10 27 0.37 1988–1999
10 Patrick Kaddu 9 21 0.43 2018–2022
Fahad Bayo 9 29 0.31 2018–present
Philip Obwiny 9 48 0.19 1994–2003

Competitive record

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FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1958 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1962 to 1974 Did not enter Did not enter
Argentina 1978 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 3 4
Spain 1982 Withdrew Withdrew
Mexico 1986 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 1 3
Italy 1990 2 1 0 1 2 3
United States 1994 Withdrew during qualifying Withdrew during qualifying
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 5
South Korea Japan 2002 2 0 1 1 4 7
Germany 2006 12 3 2 7 10 18
South Africa 2010 6 3 1 2 8 9
Brazil 2014 6 2 2 2 5 6
Russia 2018 8 4 3 1 7 2
Qatar 2022 6 2 3 1 3 2
Canada Mexico United States 2026 10 6 0 4 14 9
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 58 23 12 23 58 68

Africa Cup of Nations

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Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Not affiliated to CAF
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962 Fourth place 4th 2 0 0 2 1 5
Ghana 1963 Withdrew
Tunisia 1965 Did not qualify
Ethiopia 1968 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 2 8
Sudan 1970 Did not qualify
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974 Group stage 6th 3 0 1 2 3 5
Ethiopia 1976 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 2 6
Ghana 1978 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 0 2 9 7
Nigeria 1980 Withdrew
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984 Did not qualify
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990 Withdrew
Senegal 1992 to Equatorial Guinea 2015 Did not qualify
Gabon 2017 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 1 3
Egypt 2019 Round of 16 13th 4 1 1 2 3 4
Cameroon 2021 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast 2023
Morocco 2025 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 3 7
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027 Qualified as co-hosts
Total Runners-up 8/35 26 4 4 18 24 45

African Nations Championship

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African Nations Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009 Did not qualify
Sudan 2011 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 5
South Africa 2014 12th 3 1 1 1 3 4
Rwanda 2016 12th 3 0 2 1 3 4
Morocco 2018 12th 3 0 1 2 1 4
Cameroon 2020 14th 3 0 1 2 3 7
Algeria 2022 11th 3 1 1 1 2 3
KenyaTanzaniaUganda 2024 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 1 2 8 7
Total Quarter-finals 7/8 23 4 7 12 21 34

African Games

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Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Republic of the Congo 1965 6th place 5 1 1 3 10 14
1973–1987 Did not enter
Total - 5 1 1 3 10 14

CECAFA Cup

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Main article: CECAFA Cup

(1973–2023)

Other tournaments

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Year Round
Kuwait 1989 Peace and Friendship Cup Runners-up
Uganda 1962 Ugandan Independence Tournament Runners-up

Head-to-head record

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Completely updated and corrected per the cited source on 30 December 2025 [10]

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

Source:[11][12]

Honours

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Continental

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Regional

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Friendly

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  • 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

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Summary

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Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
CAF African Cup of Nations 0 1 0 1
Total 0 1 0 1

References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 January 2026. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 19 January 2026. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  3. ^ Muyita, Joel (2024-04-24). "FUFA confirms Uganda Premier League games to be used in soft opening of Mandela National Stadium". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  4. ^ a b "Namboole stadium to be ready by June – UPDF Engineering Brigade". The Independent. January 21, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  5. ^ Zziwa, Hassan Badru (25 May 2009). "Rise and fall of Cranes coaches". The Observer. Uganda. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  6. ^ "Rise and fall of Uganda Cranes tacticians". Soccer256 online. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Johnny McKinstry unveiled as Uganda Cranes coach". www.newvision.co.ug. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  8. ^ "TotalEnergies AFCON 2025: Put Names Uganda Cranes Squad". Federation of Uganda Football Associations. 6 December 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Uganda". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  10. ^ FIFA.com. "FIFA Tournaments – Compare Teams – FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  11. ^ "Uganda". 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  12. ^ "Uganda - Historical results". 29 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
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