Uganda Cubs Claim Silver After Thrilling U-17 Final Against Tanzania

Uganda’s U-17 national team, the Cubs, secured a silver medal in the AFCON U-17 CECAFA Qualifiers after a hard-fought 3-2 defeat to Tanzania in the final on Tuesday in Ethiopia.

Despite the loss, Uganda has successfully qualified for the 2026 AFCON U-17 tournament to be held in Morocco.

The championship match was a rematch of last year's final, where Uganda emerged victorious with a 2-1 win in Kampala. This time, however, Tanzania seized the early advantage, opening the scoring just six minutes into the game.

Uganda responded swiftly, with Thomas Ogema finding the net in the 14th minute to level the score.

But Tanzania regained control, striking twice in quick succession through Razack Juma and Luqman Mbalasalu in the 30th and 35th minutes, respectively. Juma would go on to complete his brace, giving Tanzania a commanding 3-1 lead at halftime.

The Cubs mounted a determined comeback in the second half. They were awarded a penalty, but Ogema's spot-kick was saved by the Tanzanian goalkeeper.

Uganda continued to press and managed to score a second goal deep into stoppage time in the 95th minute, but it was too late to alter the outcome.

Uganda's journey to the final included an impressive 3-0 victory over host nation Ethiopia in the semi-finals. Tanzania, who remained undefeated throughout the tournament, had also beaten Uganda 2-1 during the group stage.

Following the qualifiers, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia will represent the CECAFA region at the 2026 AFCON U-17 finals.

The qualification tournament featured ten teams: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Burundi, and Djibouti.