President Museveni has come to the rescue of the Uganda Cranes by chartering a private jet to fly the players to Maseru for their reverse fixture against Lesotho to be played on Tuesday 16th October, 2018.
Uganda will host Lesotho in a doubleheader, with the first leg of the 2019 Afcon qualifiers at Mandela National Stadium this Saturday on 13th October while the second leg to be played in Setsoto Stadium, Lesotho on Tuesday, 16th October, three days after the first leg.
Uganda Cranes and FUFA top executives were hosted by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House Entebbe at a function he organized to celebrate the 56th Independence Day with the team and football fraternity ahead of Saturday’s AFCON Qualifier.
The delegation to State House was led by FUFA 1st VP Justus Mugisha, accompanied by 2nd Vice President Darius Mugoye, FUFA CEO Edgar Watson and the FUFA Finance Director Decolas Kiiza.
President Museveni congratulated the team for posting results that have kept the Cranes on top of the group in the campaign but urged them to work harder against Lesotho on Saturday.
On top of the chartered plane, the President also offered the Uganda Cranes contingent to State House a financial boost of UGX 200M (Two Hundred Million Shillings).
“I have been following you of recent and I thank you for the performance but we need to work harder for better results. I have offered you a chartered plane to Lesotho and UGX 200M to help you get good results” said President Museveni.
Speaking on behalf of the players, team captain Denis Onyango appreciated the President and the First Lady Janet Museveni (Minister of Education and Sports) for the recent support towards the Cranes and football.
Cranes still sit top of Group L with 4 points from two matches played. Lesotho are second with two points, on level with Tanzania while Cape Verde are bottom with no point. Two teams from each group will qualify for the tournament.
The 2019 AFCON tournament will be hosted in Cameroon. The competition will be held in June and July 2019 to move it from January/February for the first time. It will also be the first Africa Cup of Nations expanded from 16 to 24 teams.
Meanwhile, all the players that were summoned are present in the camp as preparations continue at Mandela National stadium.
AFCON 2019 Qualifier
Uganda Vs Lesotho
Saturday, 13th October 2018
Mandela National Stadium (4pm)
Return Leg
Lesotho Vs Uganda
Setsoto Stadium, Maseru