Fazila Ikwaput scored the all-important goal in extra-time for the Uganda Crested Cranes to squeeze past Rwanda’s She-Amavubi and book their place in the second round of the 2024 Paris Women’s Olympic football qualifiers on Sunday, July 16.
With Ikwaput’s goal the Crested Cranes won the return game1-0 and advanced on a 4-3 aggregate victory following the 3-3 draw in the first leg tie played July 12 at the Kigali Pele stadium.
The Crested Cranes will take on Cameroon in the second round of the qualifiers slated for September this year.
If the Cranes negotiate past Cameroon, they will then go into the final round of the qualifiers from which two countries will earn the ticket to represent Africa at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
By beating Rwanda, the Crested Cranes defied odds after playing both games in the She-Amavubi backyard.
Local football governing body, FUFA, decided the Crested Cranes host their home game in Kigali, which is Rwanda’s capital, due to lack of CAF-approved stadia in Uganda at the moment.
Both Mandela National stadium, Namboole and St Mary’s stadium, Kitende are currently under renovations and upgrade to fit the required international standards.
However, there’s hope that one of the stadia will be ready when the Crested Cranes host Cameroon in September.