Africa-Press – Uganda. The national women’s football team, the Crested Cranes, might have to negotiate its incursion of southern Africa’s Cosafa tournament without highly rated forward Juliet Nalukenge.
The 18-year-old Kawempe Muslim player is understood to be nearing a switch to Cypriot first division and Uefa Women’s Champions League outfit Apollon Limassol.
Uganda have been drawn with Zambia in Group C of the 9th edition of the championship due September 15-26 in Port Elizabeth.
Uganda edged Zambia 1-0 to finish as bronze medallists in 2018, thanks to captain Tracy Jones Akiror’s strike and a goalkeeping master-class from Ruth Aturo.
However, fortunes for both sides have since changed with Zambia’s Copper Queens fresh from the just-concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics, while the Crested Cranes struggled in Cecafa Cup.
The Crested Cranes will also unlikely have Akiror – who now plies her trade in the US college football – as they face familiar opponents in Eswatini and Namibia in the group.
Uganda drew 0-0 with Namibia in 2918 but beat Eswatini 4-3.
Nalukenge out
Meanwhile, Nalukenge is understood to have kept Kawempe Muslim in the dark over her imminent transfer.
“We bless the move but we cannot say we were party to it. I think since this is an amateur setting, we do not have to be involved in a professional transfer. That is unlike her colleagues in the past who went on scholarships,” said Ayub Khalifan, who is certain the deal was brokered by Nalukenge’s management run by Tushar Ruparelia.
“We don’t want money but there is no problem with being courteous and open. Fortunately, the season is off here but what happens if you are counting on a player on the brink of such a big move?” Khalifan added.
Fufa’s head of communication Ahmed Hussein, however, said the federation was aware of the move.
“The ladies are now registered in a system, which will require us to inform and get a go-ahead from Kawempe to confirm the move. So if they don’t know now, they will get to know soon,” he said.
Nalukenge, 18, made her Crested Cranes debut in April 2018 during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Kenya in Machakos.
At a glance | Juliet Nalukenge
In 2018, Nalukenge led the U-17 team to the Cosafa and Cecafa titles before again top-scoring in the 2020 U-17 World Cup qualifiers that was called off in the final stages due to Covid-19. Nalukenge was named the Airtel-Fufa 2019 female player of the year, while Goal.com soccer website ranked her the ninth-best young female footballer in the world in its Next Generation Awards.
Cosafa women’s tourneyGroup A:
South Africa Angola Mozambique MalawiGroup B: Botswana Tanzania South Sudan ZimbabweGroup C: Eswatini Namibia Uganda Zambia
[email protected]
