Uganda Secure Their Long-awaited Return to AFCON

Uganda Cranes secured their return to the Africa Cup of Nations on 4 September 2016, defeating Comoros 1–0 at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole. The victory booked a place at the 2017 finals in Gabon, ending a run of unsuccessful qualification campaigns stretching back to Uganda’s appearance in the 1978 final. Under coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojević and captain Geoffrey Massa, Uganda delivered the result needed in their final Group D fixture. Farouk Miya scored the decisive goal in the first half, while Denis Onyango kept a clean sheet as the Cranes protected their lead in front of a packed stadium. Uganda finished the qualifying campaign with 13 points, level with group winners Burkina Faso, and qualified as one of the two best runners-up. For supporters who had endured decades of near misses, the final whistle at Namboole marked a long-awaited return to Africa’s leading national-team tournament.