KAMPALA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The head coach of Uganda Hippos Mathias Lule has vowed that his team will retain the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) U-20 CECAFA trophy.

Nine teams including Uganda will feature in the Zonal CECAFA qualifiers which will run October 6-20 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

"We have trained well and also had some build-up matches which have put the players in good shape. We are ready and prepared to try and retain the trophy that we won in 2022 in Khartoum," Lule told Xinhua on Friday after announcing the final team before traveling the same day.

The defending champions Uganda Hippos are drawn in Group B alongside Ethiopia, Burundi and South Sudan. Lule's team will begin their title defence with a match against Ethiopia on October 7, at the Azam Complex.

Team captain Brian Majub Toto told Xinhua that the team is well motivated and ready to go to Tanzania and compete. "We know it will not be easy, but we are very determined to work hard and retain the trophy," added the coach.

Apart from John Paul Ddembe who plies his trade with BK Hacken in Sweden and Louis Amagu Anguti (Coastal Union FC in Tanzania), all the other 18 players on the Ugandan team that travels to Tanzania on Friday evening are locally based players.

The other teams in Group B that will participate in the Zonal qualifiers include Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan and Djibouti. The best two teams will qualify to represent the Zone at the AFCON U-20 tournament to take place in 2025. Enditem

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