The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has provided clarification regarding the unusual 4:00 PM kickoff time for Uganda Cranes’ Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifier against South Africa.
The match, which is set to take place on Friday, November 15, 2024, at Mandela National Stadium, was originally expected to follow the Cranes’ typical evening schedule, but has now been moved to an earlier time slot.
According to FUFA Executive Committee member Rogers Byamukama, the change was implemented following a directive from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to ensure that all teams in Group K play simultaneously.
This is intended to prevent any potential issues or concerns that could arise from teams playing at different times in the final stages of the qualification campaign.
“As FUFA, we wanted to maintain the kickoff time we have had in the previous games, but CAF decided that we should play at the same time with the other teams in the group, South Sudan and Congo, to avoid concerns like syndicate,” Byamukama explained.
This means that Uganda’s fixture against South Africa will kick off at 4:00 PM, the same time South Sudan will face Congo in the other Group K match.
CAF’s decision to synchronize the kickoffs is common practice in the later stages of qualification campaigns to maintain fairness and transparency across the group.
Uganda currently leads Group K with 10 points and needs just one point from their final two matches to secure qualification for AFCON 2025.
The earlier kickoff time has been communicated to the fans, who have been instrumental in supporting the Cranes throughout the campaign.
Head coach Paul Put has already called on supporters to turn up in large numbers to back the team as they look to finish the job and secure their ticket to the continental showpiece next year.
