Banjul, 14th April 2025: The baby Scorpions have failed to secure a spot in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2025 tournament due in Qatar later this year following their 2-1 defeat to a resolute Ugandan side in a play-off encounter at the Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida on Saturday, April 12th 2025.
The Gambia were looking for victory to take them to their third FIFA U17 World Cup along with past participations in 2005 and 2009.
A brace from James Bogere secured Uganda’s Under-17 team a rare place at the high table of soccer – The World Cup.
Ahmed Njundu Kanyi gave The Gambia the lead after only 21 seconds, but the Uganda Cubs fought back steadily to level matters after 14 minutes through James Bogere. He capitalized on a good pass by Elvis Torach and shot past the Gambian goalkeeper.
It is the first time any Ugandan national team has qualified for a major FIFA tournament.
Uganda finished third in Group A in the pool phase at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025, while Gambia were the third-placed side in Group C.
The Ugandan lads were humiliated 5-0 in their first game to Morocco and picked up their boots, and won against Tanzania. This before a 2-1 loss against Zambia in their final pool fixture to deny them automatic qualification for the World Cup.
