The Crested Cranes are set to face Cameroon as they search for a ticket to feature in the global event
The Uganda women’s national team head a coach Ayub Khalifa believes the new dates for the African U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers will be a motivation for them.
After postponing the matches that were set for March due to the coronavirus issue, Caf has provided new dates for the qualifiers. The first leg will be played from October 30 to November 1 and the second leg ties will be hosted three weeks later.
“The new Caf dates are going to make the girls more focused and fully motivated,” Khalifa told Football256.
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Khalifa is confident the junior Crested Cranes have been working hard at home to keep themselves fit but feels joint training sessions are far better.
“They love and respect national colours. Despite the lack of clinical supervision, as committed athletes, they are going to double their personal training as they wait to be summoned,” he added.
“And October is almost four months away, therefore, there will be ample time for the players to gain fitness.
“Personal training is so vital but collective training is key in building team chemistry and how they play. We have to find a means of training together in an attempt to make detailed and effective preparations.
“But since everything revolves around Covid-19, we will have to wait for what the Ministry of Health says. If there will be guidelines enabling us to train together, then that would be a real blessing,”
Uganda reached this stage of qualifiers after beating Ethiopia and Tanzania in the first and the second rounds respectively.
They have to overcome Cameroon to qualify for the global tournament set to be held in India next year, something that striker Juliet Nalukenge is looking forward to.
“It would mean a lot for us if we managed to earn qualification,” Nalukenge told CafOnline in a recent interview.
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“I think we have done well in the qualifiers and I believe we have what it takes to make history for Uganda. The fact that no other previous team has achieved this is motivation enough for us.
“If we manage to qualify to the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup, it would open so many doors for us and that is why we are working so hard to achieve that.
The final fixtures, apart from the Cameroon-Uganda one, will see South Africa face-off with Morocco while Nigeria will be up against neighbours Ghana.
