Uganda were crowened Champions of the CECAFA U17 Zonal Qualifiers after beating Ethiopia 3-1 in Sunday’s Final. With this result the Uganda Cubs booked their place in the AFCON U17 tournament.
Samson Kassozi opened the scoring in the 15th minute heading in a corner into the back of the net. Idd Abdul Wahid grabbed a brace scoring a beautiful solo goal in the 61st minute and a well worked team goal in the 85th minute to put the game beyond the reaches of Ethiopia. The Red Foxes eventually got their consolation in added time. Mintesnot Endrias converted a 92nd minute penalty, which was awarded after a handball in the box, for his 8th goal of the tournament.
Mintesnot received an award for finishing top scorer of the tournament. The young striker managed to score in every game the Red Foxes played in. Alazar Markos, who was the hero in the penalty shootout against Kenya, was voted best goalkeeper of the tournament and also received his award.
After an impressive tournament in which they bagged beautiful goals and put on scintillating performances, the Ethiopian boys failed to cross the finish line. Despite the loss there are a lot of positives they can takeaway from this tournament. More focus and investment in U17 tournaments and strengthening clubs at this level will propel these kids to the next level and lay the ground work for future success.
