Uganda Coach Lutalo Reacts To AFCON U-17 Draw

Uganda coach Hamza Lutalo has welcomed the draw for the Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after his troops were pitted against hosts Morocco, Zambia and Ivory Coast in Group A.

Lutalo will be going to his first tournament in charge of the team having replaced Ghanaian Samuel Fabian Kwesi in October last year as the head coach of Uganda U-17 side.

The Cubs will open their campaign against Morocco before facing Ivory Coast in match day two. A clash against with Zambia is set to round up Ghana’s group stage adventure.

“We are ready to face the teams that are in our group. As the technical team, we preparing the boys to face any kind of opposition because our target is to advance past the group stage,” Lutalo told FUFA website.

Uganda qualified for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after reaching the final of CECAFA Zonal qualifiers in Rwanda last year.

The upcoming African championship would have served as qualifiers for the FIFA U17 World Cup, with the four semi-finalists going on to represent the continent at the global gathering.

However, it will be different from previous editions of the tournament as there will be no World Cup tickets up for grabs.

Late last year, FIFA announced the cancellation of the world tournament scheduled for Indonesia owing to health and safety concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.