6 SATURDAY VISION, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 GOOAL! GOOAL! SATURDAY VISION, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 7

AFRICA NATIONS CUP QUALIFIER UGANDA CRANES VS COMOROS NEWS UGANDA CRANES VS COMOROS NEWS WHAT IS THE CRANES’ WORTH? here are generally four Timothy Awani (Defender) Taspects that determine a Team: KCCA Uganda footballer’s market value: the Age: 20 Caps: 3 footballer’s current level of tal- Market value: N/A ent, his capacity to improve, his has made age and potential resale value. Tonny Mawejje The more boxes a footballer ticks, the Team: Þróttur Reykjavík higher he/she will cost on the market. Age: 29 several When it comes to the Uganda Cranes, Caps: 65 who are expected to clinch qualifi cation Market Value: £85, 000 (sh382m) to the 2017 Nations Cup today against Comoros, that information is about to attempts become more important than ever. Playing at the Nations Cup has the Team: Kuban Krasnodar By James Bakama potential to irreversibly transform the Age: 23 careers and lives of these Cranes play- Caps: 37 ganda made its maiden foot- ers. It will give them the exposure of Market value: £170, 000 (sh765m) Uball appearance on the conti- a lifetime and the opportunity to land nent in 1962. That Cranes team that multi-million dollar transfers to big- name clubs. If that’s how the story is destined to Team: Gor Mahia Uganda withdrew from the race in 1963 end, it’s worth looking at the current Age: 22 but was was back in the race in 1965 market value of Micho’s men, as per Caps: 22 though did not qualify. transfermarkt.com. Market Value: N/A The Cranes eventually made it back to the

fi nals tournament in 1968 fi nishing eighth. Dennis Onyango (Goalkeeper) Uganda could not make it for the next Team: Mamelodi Sundowns Team: Al-Shorta two editions. However the Cranes again Age: 31 Age: 28 qualifi ed again in 1974 fi nishing sixth. They Caps: 52 Caps: 43 made it again in 1976 and fi nished eighth. Market Value: £383, 000 (sh1.7b) Market Value: £225, 000 (sh1b) Uganda’s best moment came in 1978 when the Cranes were runners-up. They (Goalkeeper) Kizito Luwagga lost the fi nal 2-0 to hosts Ghana. Team: Al-Merrik Team: Feirense Age: 21 Age: 22 Apartheid locks out South Africa Caps: 2 Caps: 22 At the inaugural AFCON edition in 1957 Market value: N/A Market value: N/A there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa Isaac Isinde (Defender) Geofrey Massa (striker) was originally scheduled to compete, but Team: St. George Team: Bloemfontein Celtic were disqualifi ed due to the apartheid poli- Age: 25 Age: 30 cies of the then government in power. Caps: 44 Caps: 54 Since then, the tournament has grown Market value: N/A Market value: £170, 000 (sh760m) greatly, making it necessary to hold a quali- fying tournament. The number of partici- Godfrey Walusimibi (Defender) (striker) pants in the fi nal tournament reached 16 in Team: Gor Mahia Team: Standard Liège 1998 (16 teams were to compete in 1996 Age: 27 Age: 18 but Nigeria withdrew, reducing the fi eld Caps: 65 Caps: 29 to 15, and the same happened with Togo’s Market value: N/A Market value: £510, 000 (sh2.2b) withdrawal in 2010). Since then, the format has been unchanged, with the 16 teams Murushid Jjuuko (Defender) Emma Okwi (striker) being drawn into four groups of four teams Team: Simba Team: SønderjyskE each, with the top two teams of each group Age: 22 Age: 23 advancing to a “knock-out” stage. Caps: 12 Caps: 46 Egypt is the most successful nation in Market value: N/A Market value: £85, 000 (sh382m) the cup’s history, winning the event a record seven times (including when Egypt Nicholas Wadada (Defender) Yunus Sentamu (striker) was known as the United Arab Republic Team: Vipers Team: Ilves Tampere between 1958 and 1971). Ghana and Cam- Age: 22 Age: 22 eroon have won four titles each. Caps: N/A Caps: Eight Three different trophies have been Market value: N/A Market value: £64, 000 (sh288m) awarded during the tournament’s history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the fi rst (Defender) Geoffrey Sserunkuma (striker) two versions to keep after each of them won Team: KCCA Team: KCCA it three times. The current trophy was fi rst Age: 27 Age: 33 awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning Caps: 27 Caps: N/A it indefi nitely after winning their unprec- !"#$%&%%'*+/0Picture by Michael Nsubuga Market Value: £43, 000 (sh193m) Market value: N/A edented third consecutive title in 2010.