Prime
Final push to make cut
Majwega will want to rewind the clock and prove that he still got it as a Cranes international. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO
It is such a crowd, and what a crowd! Thirty one players all battling for a domestic ticket and Sebastien Desabre can only accommodate nine!
It gets even tougher for newbies when you consider that the likes of experienced and regulars Hassan Wasswa Mawanda and Godfrey Walusimbi, currently unattached, are also in the fray.
Actually, barring injuries, the aforementioned will definitely be on the plane to a camp in Ismailia, Egypt tomorrow before connecting to Dar es Salaam next Saturday for the final 2019 Afcon qualification showdown.
That in essence leaves the home based players fighting for only seven places, with Desabre confirming the other 15 are already filled by foreign based stars.
What the Frenchman, Desabre, expects from the likes of Juma Balinya, Bashir Mutanda, Brian Majwega, Timothy Awany, Allan Okello and Sadam Juma among others against Kampala Region today is clear.
“I will be looking at the players form at the moment,” said Desabre, “Confidence, fitness levels and after we will choose the nine local based players to take for Egypt camp.
“Not the nine best players in the country but the nine best players in this form, those with character and hunger. “We shall again check their progress next Wednesday when we play an Egyptian club in Ismailia.”
At Lugogo this afternoon, Uganda’s national soccer women team - the Crested Cranes - will kick off the action against Kampala Women Select at 2pm before Uganda Cranes face Kampala Region.
After tonight, the nine selected local based players join their foreign-based colleagues on a flight to Egypt tomorrow, where they will play a warm-up match against a domestic club on Wednesday.
Uganda connect to Tanzania on Saturday in time for next Sunday’s final 2019 Nations Cup qualifying match.
The Cranes, for the first time, qualified for Africa’s biggest soccer showpiece with a game to spare and could end the campaign on 16 points if they beat their East African counterparts.
For Tanzania to qualify, they will have to beat Uganda and hope for a favourable result in the tie between Lesotho and Cape Verde.
The 31 local based Cranes players: Nicholas Sebwato, Saidi Keni, James Alitho, Charles Lukwago, Filbert Obenchan, Paul Willa, Samson Mutyaba, Mustafa Kizza, Brian Majwega, Godfrey Walusimbi, Timothy Awanyi, Paul Mbowa, Musitafa Mujuzi, Halid Lwaliwa, Rashid Toha, Hassan Wasswa Mawanda, Sadam Juma, Ivan Eyam, Taddeo Lwanga, Allan Okello, Moses Waiswa, Bright Anukani, David Owori, Allan Kyambadde, Michael Birungi, Julius Poloto, Juma Balinya, Daniel Serunkuma, Henry Kaddu, Joel Madondo, Bashir Mutanda
Foreign based players summoned for camp in Cairo, Egypt: Denis Onyango, Jamal Salim, Robert Odongkara, Murushid Juuko, Nicholas Wadada, Moses Opondo, Joseph Ochaya, Khalid Aucho, Farouk Miya, Edris Lubega, Emma Okwi, Milton Karisa, Shaban Muhammad
Today at Lugogo, 2pm : Crested Cranes vs. Kampala Women Select
4.30pm: Uganda Cranes vs. Kampala Region
