The Uganda Cranes National Football team has been drawn in Group K for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers in Morocco against South Africa, Congo Brazzaville, and neighboring South Sudan.
The draw event was conducted by Ivory Coast Head Coach Emerse Faé and former Morocco international Marouane Chamakh on Thursday, June 4, 2024, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Paul Put, the head coach of the Uganda Cranes, responded to TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 Qualifiers draws, stating that it is a playable and fair group.
“I think it’s a fair group, and I think it’s playable, but we may not think it will be too easy or underestimate any team because in Africa there is no small team anymore. So, we have to be focused on these games in the group, but we have to believe that we can make it,” Coach Put said.
In addition, he exhorted the players to concentrate, believe, put in a lot of effort, and be prepared for the first games in September because it won’t be simple to be chosen for the 23 or 25 spots.
Prior to the draws, Uganda was placed in Pot 2 and thus had to face a team from the rest of Pots 1, 3, and 4.
South Africa was seeded in Pot 1, while Congo and South Sudan were in Pots 3 and 4, respectively.
Uganda has not been to the Africa Cup of Nations for the last two editions, and the ultimate target will be to return to the coveted championship next year before co-hosting the 2027 AFCON edition with Tanzania and Kenya.
The qualification games will be played in September, October, and November 2024. Only the top two teams, besides the group with hosts Morocco, qualify for the final tournament.
Full Draws for the Qualifications
Group A Group B Group C Group D
Tunisia Morocco Egypt Nigeria
Madagascar Gabon Cape Verde Benin
Comoros Central African Republic Mauritania Libya
The Gambia Lesotho Botswana Rwanda
Group E Group F Group G Group H
Algeria Ghana Ivory coast DR Congo
Equatorial Guinea Angola Zambia Guinea
Togo Sudan Sierra Leone Tanzania
Liberia Niger Chad Ethiopia
Group I Group J Group K Group L
Mali Cameroon South Africa Senegal
Mozambique Namibia Uganda Burkina Faso
Guinea Bissau Kenya Congo Malawi
Eswatini Zimbabwe South Sudan Burundi
