The Uganda Hippos, the men’s U-20 national football team, are set to create history on Friday night (11 PM) when they compete against the hosts, Ghana, in the 13th African Games final at Accra Sports Stadium.
In the competition final, the Hippos overcame Congo with a 4-2 comeback victory thanks to goals from Bruno Bunyaga twice, Abas Kyeyune, and Hakim Mutebi. After a close 1-0 victory over Senegal in the semifinals, Ghana easily advanced to the championship match.
The Uganda Hippos are competing in the African Games final for the first time ever. Reaching the semifinal in 1999 was the highest finish a Ugandan U-20 National team has ever had. Ironically, Morley Byekwaso, the head coach of the Hippos, was a member of the 1999 squad.
The Uganda Hippos will be looking for retribution against Ghana after losing 2-0 to Mauritania in the AFCON U-20 final three years prior. With eight goals, Byekwaso’s team leads the tournament in scoring with a perfect record after winning four of their five games.
The eight goals Uganda scored in the competition were scored by Bruno Bunyaga x2, Abasi Kyeyune, Hakim Mutebi, Usama Arafat, Ivan Irinimbabazi, Allan Oyirwoth, and Apollo Kagogwe. Under Desmond Sakyi Ofei’s leadership, Ghana has won three of the matches and drawn one, and they are still undefeated in the campaign. The West African country has two bronze medals (1978 and 2003) and won gold in the competition before in 2011.
