Kingston: One game at a time for battle-ready Hippos

With the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA 2026 qualifiers drawing near, the atmosphere in Uganda Hippos camp is shifting from gruelling physical preparation to tactical sharpness.

“We are in the third week. I think this is the third day in the third week. It has gone very well,” head coach Laryea Kingston stated, reflecting on the intense camp at the FUFA Technical Centre in Njeru, where the Uganda U-20 Men’s National Team, the Hippos, has been laying the groundwork for their upcoming campaign.

The zonal tournament, set to take place at the renovated Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from September 15 to 24, 2026, carries immense stakes, determining which two nations qualify to represent the CECAFA region at the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.

“We have our first game one week from now. So at the moment we are in the tapering phase, trying to manage the players’ load. Make the training shorter as much as we can,” Kingston explained. “And then we are looking for the sharpness of the players. The first two weeks have been very good. They have picked up whatever we want them to do.”

Earlier, head coach Laryea Kingston called up 56 players on the provisional list as we wait for the final squad. That wide net has yielded impressive internal competition, giving Kingston a pleasant dilemma as he finalises his selection.

“I think the team is looking good now. I can say that we have two strong teams at the moment. So we are ready for the competition,” Kingston said with quiet confidence. “But then again, we have to look at a game at a time. We have so much respect for every team. But we pick a game at a time. I think the team is looking good. So we should be ready when the tournament starts.”

Navigating the tournament will require resilience. Nine teams are split into three groups, with Group A featuring Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, while Group C pits South Sudan, Kenya, and Burundi against one another. Uganda finds itself in Group B alongside Sudan and Djibouti. 

Under the competition’s strict format, the winner of each group automatically advances to the semi-finals, joined by the best second-placed team across all groups to complete the final four. 

From there, only the two finalists will secure qualification for the main continental finals in Ghana.

To guide the young squad through this pressure cooker, Kingston is surrounded by an experienced backroom staff. He will be assisted by goalkeeper coach Steven Billy Kiggundu and fitness coach Dennis Kizito. 

Former Uganda Cranes international Brain Umony brings vital experience as the team manager and Safeguarding Officer, while Ivan Kulika serves as the team doctor, Frank Bumpenje handles duties as equipment manager, and Andrew Talenga acts as the team’s Media Officer.

This journey carries a sense of continuity and unfinished business for the Hippos. In the previous qualification, the 2024 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA zonal qualifiers, which served as the qualification path to the continental finals, the Uganda U20 team (Hippos) was under head coach Matia Lule. That tournament similarly saw the CECAFA zonal qualifiers take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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