The Uganda Cranes suffered another shock in the regional tours after the Eastern select side stole a draw from them in the dying minutes of the game at Mbale Municipal stadium last weekend. This comes after the national team were defeated in their most recent West Nile regional tour that took place earlier this year – the first game of the “Mujje Tulumbe” campaign sponsored by Airtel Uganda.
Last year, in partnership with FUFA and Nile Special, Airtel Uganda rolled out the national team’s regional tours aimed at reaching the grassroots fans, appreciating the regional local teams and preparing the national team for the AFCON qualifiers that are scheduled for September.
The game, played after a heavy down pour and witnessed by a heavy crowd, saw Isaac Muleme score the only Cranes goal straight from a corner kick in the 9 th minute of first half. After a few attempts from the Cranes masterful team, notably from players such as Joseph Ochaya, James Otim managed to skillfully head the ball past the Cranes keeper in the dying minutes of the game.
Speaking after the match, Airtel Uganda Public Relations Manager, Sandor Walusimbi expressed his awe at the skill displayed by both teams.
“The essence of these tours is not only to test the skill set of the national team against a select squad but also to get fresh talent to beef up the existing cranes team from these various regions,” he said.
“As the main sponsor of the National team and biggest supporter of football in Uganda, Airtel is proud to know that there is a lot of talent in these regions that we can recruit to enrich our national team,” he added.