The Uganda national football team as known as The Cranes, Uganda Cranes have represented Uganda in men's international football since the first international match in 1926. It is controlled by Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), the governing body for football in Uganda, which is affiliated with CAF and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football's governing body FIFA. Uganda competes in the three major international tournaments contested by African nations: the FIFA World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations and African Nations League.
History The Uganda Cranes made their debut on 1 May 1926 against Kenya, drawing 1–1. In 1962, they qualified for their Africa Cup of Nations debut in the third edition of the tournament, which included only 4 teams. In the semi-finals, the Cranes were defeated and eliminated by the United Arab Republic (2–1), and then lost the third-place match against Tunisia (3–0).
The Cranes returned to the Africa Cup of Nations in 1974, where they were eliminated in the first round following 2 defeats against Egypt and Zambia and a draw against Ivory Coast. In 1976, they were eliminated in the first round, being defeated by Ethiopia, Egypt and Guinea.
In the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations, the Cranes finished second in the group stages defeating the Republic of Congo (3–1) and Morocco (3–0) and lost 3–1 to Tunisia. In the semi-finals they eliminated Nigeria (2–1), and in the finals they were defeated by Ghana (2–0).
In 2017 the Cranes qualified for the African Cup of Nations again after 39 years. They finished the tournament in the first round after two consecutive 1–0 losses to Ghana and Egypt and a 1–1 draw against Mali.
In the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, the Cranes progressed to the second round with a 4–0 aggregate win against Togo, and were drawn into a group with Egypt, Ghana and the Republic of Congo. They finished the group with 2 0–0 draws against Ghana, a win and a draw against the Republic of Congo and a victory against Egypt followed by a defeat at the home of the Pharaohs. The 9 points won were not enough for Uganda to qualify against the 13 of the Egyptians who finished first in the standings.
In the qualifiers for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Cranes cruised through qualifiers against Tanzania, Cape Verde and Lesotho. In the competition proper, a 2–0 victory against DR Congo meant that the Uganda Cranes had won their first match in the competition for 41 years. In the other 2 games of the group Uganda obtained a draw against Zimbabwe (1–1) and a defeat against the hosts Egypt (2–0) qualifying in second place, to be eliminated in the round of 16 by Senegal (1–0). They qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after South Sudan beat Congo 3–2 on November 14, 2024.
Team image Kits and crest Kit suppliers Kit supplierPeriodRefAdmiral1926–1978 Orbit1992–1994 Erima1998–1999 Hummel2000–2006Adidas2007–2017Erreà2017–2018Mafro2018–2021Umbro2021–2024Janzi2024–present
Colours
Uganda's traditional home colours are red shirts, black shorts and red or black socks. The team has periodically worn an all-red kit.
Home stadium
The Mandela National Stadium was closed for renovation in 2019 after the outbreak of COVID-19 after it failed to reach the minimum standards required by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to host international matches. In 2020, the stadium was blacklisted from hosting football games due to its substandard condition. Reconstruction works, undertaken by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, began in 2022, and included the installation of a permanent seats in the stadium, new dressing rooms, a modern scoreboard, as well as the refurbishment of floodlights and the pitch.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
2027
Coaching staff Position Staff Head coach Paul Put Assistant coach Sam Ssimbwa Performance manager Sven De Wilde Goalkeeper coach Gery Oste Physical coach Mathieu Denis Physiotherapist & Fitness coach Arthur Naudts Video analyst Jelle Sevenhant Team Doctor Arnaud Depraetere
Coaching history Interim coaches are listed in italics.
Alan Rogers (1965–1966) Robert Kiberu (19??–1969, 1988–1989) Burkhard Pape (1969–1972) David Otti (1973–1974) Otto Westerhoff (1974–1975) Peter Okee (1976–1981, 1983) Jaberi Bidandi Ssali (1982) George Mukasa (1984–1985) Barnabas Mwesiga (1986–1988) Polly Ouma (1989–1995) Timothy Ayieko (1995–1996) Asuman Lubowa (1996–1999) Paul Hasule (1999, 2001–2003) Harrison Okagbue (1999–2001) Pedro Pasculli (2003) Leo Adraa (2003–2004) Mike Mutebi (2004) Mohammed Abbas (2004–2006) Csaba László (2006–2008) Bobby Williamson (2008–2013) Milutin Sredojević (2013–2017) Moses Basena and Fred Kajoba (2017) Sébastien Desabre (2017–2019) Abdallah Mubiru (2019, 2021) Johnny McKinstry (2019–2021) Milutin Sredojević (2021–2023) Morley Beyekwaso (2023) Paul Put (2023–present)
Players
Current squad The following players were called up for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Tunisia and Libya on 24 and 29 September 2026; respectively and friendly matches against DR Congo on 2 and 5 October 2026.
Caps and goals are correct as of 29 September 2026, after the match against Libya.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up in the last 12 months.
Individual records
Players in bold are still active with Uganda.
+Most appearancesRankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer 1 Godfrey Walusimbi 105 3 2009–2019 2 Emmanuel Okwi 95 28 2009–2023 3 Simeon Masaba 88 6 2002–2013 4 Denis Onyango 87 0 2005–present 5 Tony Mawejje 86 8 2003–2018 6 Khalid Aucho 83 2 2013–present 7 Hassan Wasswa 81 0 2006–2019 8 Farouk Miya 79 23 2014–2023 9 Andrew Mwesigwa 75 7 2003–201410 Geoffrey Massa 72 22 2005–2017
+Top goalscorersRankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1 Emmanuel Okwi 28 95 2009–2023 2 Ali Kitonsa 25 30 1961–1972 3 Farouk Miya 23 79 2014–2023 4 Geoffrey Massa 22 72 2005–2017 5 Majid Musisi 20 29 1987–2000 6 Hassan Mubiru 18 63 1998–2007 7 David Obua 16 36 2003–2011 8 Geoffrey Sserunkuma 14 54 2002–2017 9 Brian Umony 12 36 2009–2015 10 Jackson Mayanja 10 27 1988–1999
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition*1930 to 1958Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member1962 to 1974Did not enterDid not enter 1978Did not qualify210134 1982WithdrewWithdrew 1986Did not qualify210113 1990210123 1994Withdrew during qualifyingWithdrew during qualifying 1998Did not qualify200215 2002201147 2006123271018 2010631289 2014622256 2018843172 2022623132 202610604149 2030To be determined To be determined 2034Total582312235868
Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations recordYearRoundPosition* 1957Not affiliated to CAF 1959 1962Fourth place4th200215 1963Withdrew 1965Did not qualify 1968Group stage8th300328 1970Did not qualify 1972 1974Group stage6th301235 1976Group stage8th300326 1978Runners-up2nd530297 1980Withdrew 1982 1984Did not qualify 1986 1988 1990Withdrew 1992 to 2015Did not qualify 2017Group stage13th301213 2019Round of 1613th411234 2021Did not qualify 2023 2025Group stage21st301237 2027Qualified as co-hostsTotal Runners-up 8/35 26 4 4 18 24 45
African Nations Championship African Nations Championship recordYearRoundPosition* 2009Did not qualify 2011Group stage15th 300315 201412th311134 201612th302134 201812th301214 202014th301237 2022 11th311123 2024Quarter-finals8th521287TotalQuarter-finals 7/82347122134
African Games YearRoundPldWDLGFGA 19656th place511310141973–1987Did not enterTotal-51131014
CECAFA Cup
(1973–2023)
CECAFA Cup – Gold medal 15 times CECAFA Cup – Silver medal 5 times CECAFA Cup – Bronze medal 7 times
Other tournaments YearRound 1989 Peace and Friendship CupRunners-up 1962 Ugandan Independence TournamentRunners-up
Head-to-head record Completely updated and corrected per the cited source on 30 December 2025
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD 14 2 4 8 11 24 −13 8 3 2 3 10 10 0 2 1 0 1 3 5 −2 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2 7 5 2 0 9 2 +7 8 1 5 2 4 6 −2 16 10 3 3 27 10 +17 7 1 3 3 7 14 −7 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 4 3 0 1 3 1 +2 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 2 0 1 2 4 –2 8 5 1 2 14 7 +7 14 5 2 7 10 23 −13 5 5 0 0 34 3 +31 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 19 2 2 15 13 36 −23 5 4 0 1 12 4 +8 33 14 9 10 47 39 +8 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 13 3 6 4 10 13 −3 9 4 1 4 15 14 +1 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 2 0 1 2 2 3 –1 5 1 2 2 5 7 –2 55 19 26 11 62 58 +4 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 5 3 2 0 8 0 +8 4 2 0 2 2 4 −2 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 6 3 0 3 10 6 +4 29 12 8 9 33 30 +3 7 0 4 3 4 10 −6 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6 5 3 1 1 13 5 +8 5 2 0 3 7 12 –5 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 2 1 0 1 5 3 +2 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 10 5 2 3 14 9 +5 9 4 2 3 7 8 –1 35 15 11 9 43 26 +17 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 8 2 2 4 5 9 −4 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 24 20 3 1 71 9 +62 8 0 3 5 11 16 −5 8 6 1 1 20 6 +14 24 12 8 4 35 20 +15 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 62 33 18 11 101 56 +45 9 2 1 6 6 12 −6 6 0 0 6 2 19 −17 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 4 –2 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 38 12 7 19 41 51 -10 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 16 2 9 5 11 14 −3 Total 593 244 162 187 794 641 +153
Note: Country in italic is not a member of FIFA.
Source:
Honours
Continental CAF African Cup of Nations Runners-up (1): 1978
Regional CECAFA Cup Champions (15): 1973, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 Runners-up (5): 1974, 1982, 1994, 1995, 2000 Third place (7): 1983, 1984, 1987, 1991, 2007, 2010, 2017
Friendly Gossage Cup / Challenge Cup (25): 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960 (shared), 1962, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970
Awards African National Team of the Year (1): 2016
Summary Competition TotalCAF African Cup of Nations0 1 0 1 Total 0 1 0 1
See also
References
External links
Federation of Uganda Football Associations Uganda at CAF Uganda at FIFA