Julius OkorieUganda suffered a heavy defeat in the hands of no nonsense hosts, Morocco, in the opening match of the 15th edition of CAF U-17 Championship on Sunday.
Uganda, making their second appearance at the championship, were down three goals in the first 10 minutes. Morocco apparently enjoying the support of their vociferous home supporters at the El Bachir Stadium, did not waste time asserting dominance.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe pressure from Morocco was relentless, and in the 23rd minute, they were awarded a penalty following a VAR review by Nigerien referee Sadou Ali Brahamou.
The spot-kick was calmly converted by Ziyad Baha Abedlahadj, the Real Betis forward, who was cheered on by chants of “Chebbka!” (meaning “the net”) from the crowd.
Belmokhtar returned to the scoresheet soon after with a solo effort, giving Morocco a 4-0 lead before half-time, having enjoyed 67% possession and converting four of their six first-half chances.
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Uganda pushed forward in search of a consolation, leaving opening at the back that served as a opportunity for Morocco’s Ziyad Baha to make it five for the homers.
Uganda’s only previous finals appearance was in 2019, when their neighbours Tanzania were hosts.
At the 2019 finals Uganda began with a 1-0 loss to Angola in Group A, they then defeated hosts Tanzania 3-0 and drew with Nigeria 1-1 in their final group game. They exited the tournament in the group stage.
All four of Uganda’s goals at the 2019 finals were scored by different players, they are yet to have a player score multiple goals for them at the finals.
Uganda qualified for the second finals by winning the CECAFA regional play offs they began with a 1-1 draw against Tanzania in their first group game then defeated Keny 5-0 in their second group game.
They managed to overcome Somalia 4-1 in the Semi-finals and defeated Tanzania in Kampala on the 27th December 2024 in the final winning 2-1. Despite losing so heavily in the opener, Uganda looks like a team that can recover for exploits.
Three matches are lined up today with Tanzania taking on Zambia, Burkina Faso square up against Cameroon while South Africa settle scores with Egypt.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
