The Uganda senior women’s football national team, Crested Cranes, will face Rwanda in the first round of the Olympic Games qualifiers.
The East African derby duels are slated to take place between 10th-18th July and the winner will face Cameroon next following the draws held in Cairo, Egypt yesterday.
The last time Uganda faced Rwanda was last year in the CECAFA regional tournament which the Cranes won 2-0 thanks to Fazila Ikwaput’s brace.
Uganda took part in the previous qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 edition but they were eliminated in the first round by regional rivals Ethiopia.
This time around, a total of 25 teams will take part in the Olympic Games qualifying tournament, with 18 set to be involved in the first round.
The remaining seven, with South Africa on top, are the highest-ranked teams from last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and will join the party in the second round.
The nine winners from the first round plus the seven highest-ranked will battle at the round of 16 for places in the third round.
The last eight standing nations will be back to action for slots in the fourth round and the winners here will represent Africa next year in Paris, France.
At the last Games, Zambia held Africa’s flag, and they will start their journey towards a possible back-to-back qualification in the second round.
The first-round matches are scheduled for July 10-18 2023, and the second round is between October 23-31.
The third round will take place between 19-28 February 2024 while the final round will be staged between April 1-9, 2024.
Courtesy Photos
