Uganda Cranes coach Milutin “Micho’ Sredojevic released a 30-player squad on Thursday, March 9 to start preparations for the upcoming the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The Cranes are scheduled to play Tanzania Taifa Stars in back-to-back AFCON qualifiers later this month.
Due to lack of CAF-approved stadia in Uganda, the Cranes will host Taifa Stars on March 24 at the Suez Canal Authority stadium in Ismailia, Egypt before the two teams face off again on March 28 in Dar es Salaam.
FUFA communications director Ahmed Hussein Marsha explained that Dar es Salaam’s Benjamin Mpaka stadium would have been ideal but it was automatically ruled out since Tanzania are Uganda’s opponents.
In Micho’s squad, KCCA FC exciting midfielder Allan Okello has been recalled after missing out on the World Cup qualifiers and CHAN Finals. Okello’s last appearance for the Cranes was against Algeria and Niger in June, 2022.
Micho also included the pair of youngsters Isma Mugulusi and Travis Mutyaba, who featured the Uganda Hippos in the recent U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Finals in Egypt.
Mugulusi, who was the Hippos’ skipper, plays for Makedonikos FC in Greece while Mutyaba features for SC Villa in the StarTimes Uganda Premier League.
The home-based players on the squad will enter residential camp March 15 at Crane Paradise hotel in Kisasi. They will play a friendly match against a Select Kitara regional side on March 17 in Bundibugyo district.
The foreign-based players are expected to join the Cranes squad in Egypt before March 24.