Kampala, Uganda: Uganda’s Senior Women’s National Football Team, the Crested Cranes, have been drawn against Zambia in a high-stakes second-round clash of the African qualifiers for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The draw, conducted by the Confederation of African Football in Cairo on Wednesday, sets up a demanding test for Uganda as they continue their pursuit of a historic first Olympic appearance.
Uganda will face the Zambia Women’s National Football Team over two legs scheduled between October 5 and 13, 2026, with the winner advancing to the third round.
The victor will then meet either the Ghana Women’s National Football Team or the winner between Mauritius and Djibouti in the next phase of the qualifiers.
Zambia head into the tie as favourites, having qualified for the last two Olympic Games (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), underlining their growing dominance in African women’s football.
For Uganda, the fixture represents both a challenge and an opportunity to rewrite history. The Crested Cranes are yet to qualify for the Olympic Games and must overcome one of the continent’s strongest sides to keep their hopes alive.
The memory of the previous campaign still lingers, where Uganda narrowly fell 3-2 on aggregate to the Cameroon Women’s National Football Team, missing out on progression by the finest margins.
The qualification journey will be played across five rounds, with only two African nations securing slots at the women’s football tournament of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, scheduled from July 11 to 29.
Elsewhere in the draw, several key fixtures have been lined up. Tunisia will face Senegal, DR Congo take on Ivory Coast, while Nigeria will await the winner between Sudan and Comoros.
Defending African champions South Africa will face either South Sudan or Madagascar, while in the CECAFA region, Rwanda meet Ethiopia, Kenya take on Seychelles, and Tanzania face Botswana.
A total of 35 teams are competing in the qualifiers, highlighting the scale of competition for Africa’s limited Olympic slots.
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