Uganda has been pitted against two fellow East African nations and another one from West Africa in the qualifiers of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The draws held on Tuesday evening in Cairo, the Egyptian capital saw Uganda drawn in group E with Kenya and Rwanda both from East Africa and Mali in qualifiers that will kick off in October this year and end a year later, in October 2021.
The draws have come at a time when relations between Uganda and Rwanda are not at their best and might see drama unfolding when both countries play each other.
Rwanda closed its borders with Uganda but also stopped their citizens from coming to Uganda, citing security reasons and it remains to be seen if the team from Kigali will honor the game in Kampala.
In the recent CECAFA tournament hosted in Uganda last year, Rwanda pulled out at the last moment citing budgetary constraints but many attributed it to the bad blood between them and then hosts Uganda.
Qualification
Uganda seems to have been pitted against weaker teams and to many, especially Ugandans, this is one of the closest chances the East African side has to play at the world’s most prestigious football competitions.
However, it will not be automatic for nations that will win their respective groups to qualify for the world cup finals in Qatar.
According to CAF, the winner in each of the 10 groups will then qualify for playoffs where five teams will qualify for the world cup.
World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
Group A: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Djibouti
Group B: Tunisia, Zambia, Mauritania, Equatorial Guinea
Group C: Nigeria, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Liberia
Group D: Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Malawi
Group E: Mali, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda
Group F: Egypt, Gabon, Libya, Angola
Group G: Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia
Group H: Senegal, Congo, Namibia, Togo
Group I: Morocco, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan
Group J: DR Congo, Benin, Madagascar, Tanzania
