Uganda Cubs captain Owen Mukisa says the team’s main target at the upcoming 2025 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations is to qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The tournament gets underway on Wednesday in Morocco, with Uganda’s Under-17 side among the 16 nations competing.
Uganda has been drawn in Group B alongside continental heavyweights Ivory Coast, Cameroon and DR Congo.
Africa has been allocated 10 slots for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar. The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for both the knockout stage and the World Cup.
The remaining two World Cup spots will be decided through playoffs involving the third-placed teams.
The Uganda Cubs, coached by Laryea Kingston, have spent about 10 days in Morocco preparing for the tournament. During that period, they played two friendly matches, beating Mozambique 3-1 and Mali 1-0.
“Those two preparation matches have given us confidence, and we now strongly believe we can compete,” Mukisa said.
“The boys are working hard and doing their level best to achieve the goal. The aim is to reach the World Cup, and then we can think about the rest.”
Uganda is making its third appearance at the continental showpiece, having previously featured in 2019 and 2025, but the Cubs have never progressed beyond the group stage.
However, under former coach Brian Ssenyondo, Uganda last year secured qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup through the playoff route after narrowly missing out on a direct qualification spot.
Uganda booked its place at the AFCON finals after finishing runners-up at the CECAFA U-17 Zonal Qualifiers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Cubs reached the final after an impressive campaign but lost 3-2 to Tanzania in a thrilling encounter — a reversal of fortunes after Uganda had beaten the same opponents 2-1 in the previous year’s final.
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