Uganda’s senior women’s national football team, the Crested Cranes, will face Zambia in the upcoming CAF Women’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifiers, following the official draw held on April 29, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt.
The draw, conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), featured 35 nations competing for just two slots allocated to Africa at the 2028 Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Los Angeles, USA. The qualification campaign will unfold over five rounds of home-and-away fixtures.
Uganda received a bye from the preliminary round, which involved the six lowest-ranked teams, and was placed in Pot 3 alongside Rwanda, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, and Seychelles. Under the draw format, Pot 3 teams were paired against those in Pot 4, leading to Uganda’s matchup with Zambia.
The two-legged tie is scheduled to take place between October 5 and October 13, 2026. Uganda will host the first leg before traveling away for the return fixture.
The Crested Cranes will take confidence from their most recent encounter with Zambia in June 2022, when they secured a commanding 5-0 victory in an international friendly played in Morocco. Viola Nambi scored twice in that match, with additional goals from Ritah Kivumbi, Fauzia Najjemba, and Fazila Ikwaput.
However, Uganda will also be mindful of their previous Olympic qualifying campaign. In the race for the 2024 Games, the team was eliminated in the first round by Cameroon. Despite winning the first leg 2-0 at home, they suffered a 3-0 defeat after extra time in the return leg, exiting the competition 3-2 on aggregate.
The winner between Uganda and Zambia will advance to the next round, where they will face either Ghana or the winner of the tie between Mauritius and Djibouti.
