Crested Cranes head coach George Lutalo has urged his players to carry their brilliant performance at the concluded CECAFA Women’s Championship to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Crested Cranes won the CECAFA trophy for the first time and in style as they clinched it while unbeaten and will now turn their focus to the WAFCON which starts in July in Morocco.
“I would like to thank the Crested Cranes for their hard work ever since we started this tournament,” Lutalo said after his side’s 3-1 win over Burundi in the final on Saturday at FUFA Technical Center, Njeru.
“We have emerged champions and this has helped us to gain momentum ahead of the WAFCON and I encourage the girls to carry this performance along with them to Morocco.”
Lutalo’s charges played five games in the competition and they managed to win four of them in normal time while another was won in extra time.
In Group A they finished with maximum points after beating Rwanda 2-0, Djibouti 5-0, and Burundi 4-1.
On reaching the semifinals, they were drawn with Ethiopia, and the Cranes needed the 114th-minute goal from Fazila Ikwaput to edge the former 1-0.
In the final, it was a repeat of the Group A encounter with Burundi, and Uganda managed to win the contest 3-1.
After Uganda won its first-ever CECAFA trophy, Lutalo believes this will help develop Women’s football furthermore in the country.
“This is a huge achievement to me because I am handling this team for the first time and to the players as well but most importantly, it means a lot to Women’s football in Uganda.”
“We have opened up the door for Women’s football and if we excellence at WAFCON it will widely open.”
“We are trying to build a strong Women’s national football team and expect us to showcase well at WAFCON,” he added.
The Crested Cranes will be returning to the continent for the first time since 2000 when they failed to make it beyond the group stages at a tournament that was held in South Africa.
CECAFA runners-up Burundi will also be featuring at the WAFCON tournament that gets underway on Saturday, July 2 to Saturday, July 22 in Morocco.
