The Uganda U-17 Women’s National Team, the Teen Cranes, settled for a 1-1 draw against Kenya U-17 in the first leg of the second round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers played on Friday 22nd May 2026.
Uganda took the lead in the 13th minute through Shadia Nabirye before Kenya’s Emily Adhiambo levelled matters in the 60th minute.
The result leaves the tie finely balanced ahead of the return leg scheduled for 30th May 2026 at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. The match will kick off at 3:00 PM EAT.
The Teen Cranes advanced to the second round after eliminating Zimbabwe 6-1 on aggregate in the opening round of the qualifiers.
The qualification competition is played over three rounds of home-and-away matches. Thirty teams entered the first round with the winners advancing to the second round alongside one exempted team. The remaining teams will compete across the second and third rounds to determine the four African representatives for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The winner between Uganda and Kenya over two legs will progress to the third and final qualification round, where the successful teams will secure places at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Morocco from 17th October to 7th November 2026.
The tournament will mark the 10th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the third time the competition is being hosted in Africa. Morocco becomes the second Arab nation to host the tournament after Jordan in 2016.
Defending champions North Korea won a record fourth title in 2025.
