The Uganda Senior Women’s National Football Team, the Crested Cranes, have been drawn against Zambia in the CAF Women’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifiers.
The draw was conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Wednesday, 29th April 2026 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, involving a total of 35 nations. The qualifiers will be played over five rounds of home-and-away fixtures to determine the two teams that will represent Africa at the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Los Angeles, USA in 2028. Team rankings for the draw were based on the latest official FIFA rankings.
Uganda received a bye from the first round, which featured the six lowest-ranked teams, and was placed in Pot 3 alongside Rwanda, Angola, Botswana, Malawi and Seychelles.
According to the draw format, teams in Pot 3 were paired against those in Pot 4, which included Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Ethiopia.
The draw outcome confirmed Uganda will face Zambia, with the two-legged tie scheduled between 5th and 13th October 2026. Uganda will host the first leg before travelling away for the return leg.
The most recent meeting between the two sides came in June 2022, when Uganda secured a 5-0 victory in an international friendly played at the Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco as part of preparations for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Viola Nambi scored twice, while Ritah Kivumbi, Fauzia Najjemba and Fazila Ikwaput each added a goal.
In the previous edition of the qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games, Uganda was eliminated in the first round by Cameroon with a 3-2 aggregate defeat. The Crested Cranes won the first leg 2-0 at the FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru, but lost 3-0 after extra time in the return leg at Stade de la Réunification in Douala.
The winner on aggregate between Uganda and Zambia will progress to face the winner between Ghana and the victor of the tie between Mauritius and Djibouti in the third round.
Only two teams from Africa will qualify for the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Los Angeles, USA.
