The announcement comes after Uganda were drawn in Group H of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers following the official draw conducted in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday May 19th.
Uganda will face Tunisia, Libya and Botswana in Group H, ahead of the AFCON that will jointly be -co-hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania from June 19th to July 17th in a historic edition that will mark the first time the competition is staged by three nations.
Ahmed Hussein, FUFA Corporate Affairs Director, has confirmed Uganda will play Tanzania on June 5th before taking on Madagascar on June 8th in Marrakech, Morocco.
Uganda to assess squad
“The matches will provide the technical team with an opportunity to further assess the squad and build competitiveness ahead of AFCON 2027 Qualifiers and future CAF and FIFA competitions,” read a statement from FUFA.
“Both fixtures will be played in Marrakech, Morocco, with further details regarding kick-off times and venues to be communicated in due course.
“The international friendlies are organised under the FIFA international window, allowing national teams to assemble players for official preparation matches.”
As one of the host nations, Uganda has already secured automatic qualification for the finals. Therefore, only one additional team from Group H will qualify for the tournament.
Uganda head coach Paul Put believes the qualifiers will give him and the technica bench enough time to prepare for the AFCON.
“Playing in the qualifiers with teams like Tunisia, who will play in the FIFA World Cup, Libya and Botswana will be a great opportunity,” Put told Xinhua.
The qualifiers will be played on a home-and-away basis across six matchdays during the FIFA International Windows between September 2026 and March 2027.
Matchdays one and two will be played from September 21st to October 6th October, while matchdays three and four are scheduled for 9th to 17th November 2026. The final two matchdays will take place from 22nd to 30th March 2027.
Uganda’s best AFCON performance is runners-up finish in 1978. The Cranes have qualified for the tournament seven times in total.
While they have not advanced beyond the group stages since the tournament expanded, they are guaranteed hosts for the upcoming 2027 edition.
In 1978, Uganda achieved their greatest success by reaching the AFCON final in Ghana. They defeated Congo, Morocco, and Nigeria before ultimately losing 2-0 to the host nation, Ghana.
