Uganda Cranes have started the journey to the 2020 Total African Nations Championship finals which will be a fifth straight appearance if they make.
As the Cranes head into their first leg qualifier against Somalia on Saturday, July 27th at Al Haji Hussein Guled Stadium in Djibouti, www.football-256.com takes you through their qualifying journey since 2009.
2009 CHAN qualifiers
In the maiden qualifiers, Uganda Cranes knocked out Eritrea with a 5-2 victory on aggregate in the preliminary round.
Uganda hosted Eretria in the first leg as the two sides played to a two-all stalemate in Kampala before Uganda edged Eritrea 3-0 away to qualify for the first round.
The CECAFA giants were eliminated by their counterparts Tanzania 3-1 on aggregate after a comfortable 2-0 win in Dar es Salaam, before a one-all stalemate in the return leg at Nakivubo.
2011 CHAN qualifiers
Uganda started the campaign strongly, defeating Burundi 5-1 on aggregate after a one-all draw in Bujumbura.
Uganda were recharged for the second leg and they won it 4-0 which booked them a date with Kenya.
Uganda registered a slim 1-0 win in Kampala, before fighting tooth and nail in Nairobi, they lost the game 2-1 and with aggregate tied at 2-2, Uganda advanced to qualify for the final on away goals rule. The result ensured Uganda qualified for their maiden CHAN finals in Sudan.
2014 CHAN qualifiers
During the third edition of the tournament, Uganda edged Tanzania with a 4-1 victory on aggregate to qualify for the final tournament.
Uganda won the first leg 1-0 away in Tanzania before smashing the Tanzanians 3-1 in Kampala to qualify for their second straight CHAN finals in South Africa.
2016 CHAN qualifiers
Uganda were again drawn against Tanzania, this time around in the preliminary round of the qualifiers. Uganda got a comfortable 3-0 away at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar, Erisa Ssekisambu scored twice for the visitors before Farouk Miya sealed it late from a spot-kick.
The two sides then settled for a 1-1 draw in the second leg that was played at Nakivubo Stadium in Kampala. John Bocco scored for the visitors before Erisa Ssekisambu cancelled out his strike in the later stages of the game.
Uganda advanced 4-1 on aggregate to book a date with Sudan in the final qualifying round, Cranes won the first leg 2-0, Frank Kalanda and Farouk Miya were on the scoresheet.
They went on to win the second leg with the same result, this time around it was Caesar Okhuti and Farouk Miya who scored for Uganda at Khartoum Stadium. The Cranes qualified for the finals in Rwanda, 4-0 on aggregate
2018 CHAN qualifiers
Uganda joined the competition in the second round of the qualifiers against South Sudan, the first leg of the tie ended in a goalless draw at Juba Stadium.
The Cranes defied all odds in the second leg with a 5-1 win at StarTimes Stadium in Kampala, Paul Mucureezi came off the bench to score four goals Derrick Nsibambi had given Uganda the lead.
In the third round, Uganda registered a comfortable 3-0 home win over Rwanda at St Marys Stadium in Kampala, Muzamir Mutyaba scored twice Nsibambi got the other
However, tables almost turned in Rwanda, the hosts won the return leg 2-0 although the two goals were not enough to eliminate Uganda at Stade Régional Nyamirambo in Kigali. Yannick Makunzi and Thierry Manzi scored for the Amavubi Stars.
