Teen Cranes buoyant

Teen Cranes have the advantage of having both games being played here. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
Coach Sheryl Botes and her team are raring to get going against Namibia in the first leg of the first round this afternoon at Hamz Stadium Nakivubo.
Uganda are not getting ahead of themselves in this Fifa U-17 Women World Cup qualification campaign.
But coach Sheryl Botes and her team are raring to get going against Namibia in the first leg of the first round this afternoon at Hamz Stadium Nakivubo.
“I am not going to tell the girls to think as far as qualifying for the World Cup because there are many hurdles to handle,” Botes said ahead of her second qualification campaign with the Teen Cranes.
“We have just three or four of the players we had in the previous campaign and even if we get past Namibia, Kenya and other countries like Cameroon and Nigeria lie in wait. We are focused on this round and we will take it one match at a time,” the South African coach added.
Happy to be home
It helps Uganda that they play both first round games at home, including the second leg on Sunday, as Namibia elected to host their home game here.
“First, it helps that we do not have to travel and then we can keep in the same environment we are used to, with our fans,” Botes said after their penultimate training at Fufa Technical Centre, Njeru on Tuesday.
“I also like this place because we do not have to drive to the training pitch. The girls have shown very good commitment, discipline, and hard work as we try to work on every aspect of the game. We have one more aspect of play to fine tune (on Wednesday) because Namibia are a really good team.”
Learning from losses
Namibia lost 6-1 to Malawi and 5-0 to both Madagascar and South Africa at the Cosafa U-17 Women Championship in December 2024 but that is no reason for Uganda to rest on their laurels.
“They did not do well but they are rebuilding the team. They might just improve and we should not let them surprise us. I believe that you learn so much in losing matches and I believe they are fine tuning the aspects they struggled in,” Botes said.
Fifa U-17 World Cup Qualifiers
First round at Hamz Stadium Nakivubo
First leg (Today): Namibia vs. Uganda, 4pm
Second leg (January 19): Uganda vs. Namibia
Second round: Namibia/Uganda vs. Kenya, March 7-16, 2025
Third round: April 18-20, 2025
Fourth round: April 25-27, 2025
Final tournament: October 17 – November 4