FUFA President Hon. Magogo Moses Hassim has come out and expressed gratitude to Ugandans following the end of the September FIFA international break when the National senior team Uganda Cranes played two AFCON 2025 Qualifiers against South Africa and Congo.

The fans poured their love for the team as they picked up a valuable away point in Johannesburg in a 2-2 draw with South Africa on 6th September. Three days later, the Cranes collected maximum points off Congo after a 2-0 win at Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
The Paul Put Coached Cranes are now joint leaders of Group K with South Africa on four points each.
In his recorded message through the FUFA Communications department, the FUFA President applauded the role played by the different stakeholders as Uganda marked the start of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifiers.
The Almighty in control
I want to thank the Almighty God for the gift of life, gift of wisdom, gift of energy in this assignment we are undertaking of developing the game of football in Uganda most specifically in this ongoing campaign of the AFCON 2025 Morocco.
After the first section of this qualification campaign, I want to thank the Government of Uganda; it is very difficult to host matches away from home. The team disconnects from the fans and you lose the 12th player.
Government support
The Government has also given us back Mandela National Stadium and you could see that the players are now very familiar with the ground.
I also extend my gratitude to H.E., the President of Uganda who has supported sports, particularly football.
Our senior Minister Mama Janet Kataha Museveni who supervises and always guides us, our line Minister Hon. Peter Ogwang, the National Council of Sports, the Uganda Olympic Committee and the entire Government apparatus to be more specific the ministry of finance that eventually releases the funds to us to use, the Parliament of Uganda headed by the Rt. Hon. Speaker Anita Annet Among Magogo and her Deputy Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa for providing us with the resources as sport. This has not been the case before for us to be taking the direction we are taking. I am extremely excited that we have made Government understand their role and the support. We can only ask for more.
The 12th player in the stands
It is an opportunity to thank the fans now that we are back at Mandela National Stadium-Namboole. The supporters of the Uganda Cranes that have come to the stadium thank you so much. For whatever causes of inconvenience that you go through, it becomes feedback for us to make the next event better. We will continue trying to improve. Thank you for coming through always and supporting the players and the team. The Ugandans who supported us in South Africa, we had more fans in Orlando stadium than the South African national team and the result we got had everything to do with the Ugandan community living there. They mobilised themselves, showed us love. I can only say thank you so much for loving your country, thank you for loving football, you are part of this journey. All Ugandans and non-Ugandans supporting the national team here and the diaspora, those who watched on television and those who were following on their phones from wherever they were, we can only thank you and say without you this result may be would not have been achievable.
The Sponsors and partners
I also want to take the opportunity and singular honour to thank our official sponsors of the Uganda Cranes that is MTN that you are back at doing what you do best, being the number one supporter of football in this country. You are back home as we need to qualify and go back to the Africa Cup of Nations with you. I am very sure it is going to be a totally different experience so we thank you so much. Nile Breweries, Nivana, BIDCO thank you so much for walking with us.
Fortress Namboole
I also want to thank the management of Mandela National Stadium that keep and manage the facility for us to find it in good condition. It is a very improved facility in terms of the dressing rooms, big screen and the pitch itself. We want to thank the chairman of the board and the Managing Director that we now have a facility we are proud of. Our neighbours are now using the facility to host their games. It is our duty now that we keep it in good shape, we keep it as home and not to let it go down like it had gone and surely with the support of everybody this should be achievable. The entire management and staff of the stadium we are proud of what you are doing and happy that you provide us with a home. The few things that need to make the facility better we can only work together to ensure that we have a complete finishing of the stadium ready for CHAN next year and AFCON 2027.
The Uganda Premier League sending players to the Uganda Cranes
This brings me to thank the Uganda Premier League clubs and all the clubs in Uganda because this is where we pick the players from. The organisers of the Uganda Premier league, that is the UPL board and staff. It is very important for us to thank them; we appreciate what you are doing. We now have very many players coming from our local league that are actually contributing to the national team. When we see Denis Omedi, Jude Semugabi, Joel, Serunjogi, Saidi Mayanja, James Begisa, Allan Okello and others that are making a contribution. This is the effort of the clubs. I also want to thank StarTimes, the sponsors of the league because you move with us through out the season. At the end of the day people are going to see players playing in the national team but these are players playing with us so StarTimes the official broadcasters/ official title sponsors of the league I want to take this opportunity on behalf of FUFA and on behalf of football to thank you as well.
The Invincible FUFA Staff
The staff at FUFA, who are normally not thanked, thank you so much. We normally ask people to get out of their job descriptions. You may be a lawyer at FUFA and the next thing you are asked to work in the VIP section, you could be a referees’ manager and the next thing you are at the gate managing people. So, thank you so much the FUFA staff, delegates, officials and the entire football fraternity.
The gallant Uganda Cranes players
The gallant players, we can not thank you enough. I want to tell Ugandans that we have a group of very disciplined players, very organised, really work very hard and want to succeed. I can see the hunger in the dressing room in the meeting when we are talking, these players want to succeed. We shall not let you down, Captain Khalid Aucho and the entire group of players please, on behalf of FUFA, on behalf of football we want to thank you for the job you are doing for your country and like
The coaches, referees, Put and his team
The different coaches, referees wherever you are for your contribution but particularly the technical team of the Uganda Cranes; Coach Put and the technical staff you are doing a good job. We believe that when we support you then you will deliver us where you want to go. You could see that there is a lot of contribution from the coaching on the way we are playing now and doing different things. Coach Put and team we only thank you and the entire coaching industry in Uganda for the different contribution you are making.
The fourth estate
I want to thank the media, the fourth estate; those that have promoted the different players right from wherever the players are, those that promoted the event, those that criticise us to make us actually work better thank you so much. You are really part of this result and effort trying to change whatever we trying to do.
The way forward with South Sudan in sight
I want to conclude with the way forward. This is a marathon and we have only moved a few miles. It is a long journey and we need to keep steady. We have our next assignment against South Sudan at home and back-to-back in Juba between 7-15th October. These are not easy matches at all. There are no longer smaller opponents on the continent. It is even more difficult with South Sudan because some of their players play in our league, we understand each other, it is more of a derby kind of match up, derbies do not conform with which team is better than the other.
As a federation, we are going to take these two matches very seriously to ensure that we put up our best team for the best performance because it is not yet done until it is done. We will go out and fight, we will go out and prepare but we must remember that this is a team in transition.
We have been talking about transition and people seem not to appreciate it asking when is it ending? Transition continues, it is going to be frustrating but what is important that now we start to see a new era after Dennis Onyango, Geofrey Massa, the new Uganda Cranes trying to take stability that now there is a new group of players trying to take responsibility. Now, what we need to do it to appreciate that these are players in development.