Uganda depart Entebbe on Sunday evening with a squad mixing hardened internationals and emerging talent, as coach Paul Put’s Cranes begin their final approach to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Put named a 30-man team featuring senior figures such as Denis Onyango, midfielder Khalid Aucho, defender Timothy Awany and forwards Melvyn Lorenzen, Melvyn Lorenzen and Steven Mukwala.
But the narrative around this squad tilts sharply toward renewal, with several players of Ugandan heritage – previously eased into qualifying and friendly windows – now trusted for the main event.
Toby Sibbick, Elio Capradossi and Jordan Obita, together with Mubiru and Lorenzen form that foreign legion of Ugandan heritage.
Romanian-based midfielder Alhassan Baba and teenage winger James Bogere of Masaka Sunshine, plucked from the lower echelons of Uganda’s football landscape after impressing at youth level and the recent U-17 World Cup, are the other names.
His selection marks the most daring of Put’s calls, signalling a willingness to reward rising ability over reputation.
A solid domestic core also made the cut through KCCA’s Charles Lukwago, Ivan Ahimbisibwe and Shafik Kwikiriza, Vipers defenders Rogers Torach and Hilary Mukundane, and forward Allan Okello, as well as SC Villa’s David Owori and Reagan Mpande.
The Cranes’ camp will run for 11 days in Casablanca, with two friendly matches arranged before the team relocates to Rabat – their base for Afcon Group C, where Uganda face Tunisia and Tanzania before travelling to Fes for the key meeting with Nigeria.
Put’s choices reflect a squad still evolving but increasingly assertive in its identity of collectiveness.
What remains is whether this blend of seniority, diaspora quality and raw promise can rediscover the edge needed to move Uganda beyond the last 16, their stop at the 2019 edition in Egypt.
Cranes final squad
Goalkeepers: Salim Omar Magoola – Richards Bay (South Africa), Denis Onyango – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Nafian Alionzi – Defence Forces FC (Ethiopia), Charles Lukwago – KCCA (Uganda).
Defenders: Toby Sibbick – Burton Albion (England), Elio Caprodossi – FC Universitatea Cluj (Romania), Jordan Obita – Hibernian (Scotland), Rogers Torach – Vipers SC (Uganda), Abdu Azizi Kayondo – FC Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic), Isaac Muleme – Viktoria Žižkov (Czech Republic), Timothy Awany – FC Ashdod (Israel), David Owori – SC Villa (Uganda), Hilary Mukundane – Vipers SC (Uganda).
Midfielders: Kenneth Semakula – Al-Adalah FC (Saudi Arabia), Khalid Aucho – Singida Black Stars SC (Tanzania), Ronald Ssekiganda – APR FC (Rwanda), Bobosi Byaruhanga – Oakland Roots SC (USA), Alhassan Baba – FCSB (Romania).
Forwards: Allan Okello – Vipers SC (Uganda), Melvyn Lorenzen – Muangthong United (Thailand), Travis Mutyaba – CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), Denis Omedi – APR (Rwanda), Rogers Mato – FK Vardar (North Macedonia), Reagan Mpande – SC Villa (Uganda), Jude Ssemugabi – Jamus FC (South Sudan), Uchechukwu Ikpeazu – St Johnstone (Scotland), Steven Mukwala – Simba SC (Tanzania), James Bogere – Masaka Sunshine (Uganda), Ivan Ahimbisibwe – KCCA (Uganda), Shafik Nana Kwikiriza – KCCA (Uganda).
Head coach: Paul Put.