Midfielder Khalid Aucho has challenged the Uganda Cranes players, who will be making their first appearances in the 2025 Africa Cup of the Nations to seize the moment and give a good account of themselves.Uganda will be making a comeback to the biannual tournament, set to run between 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026 in Morocco, after missing the previous two editions held in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.The defensive midfielder is expected to make his third AFCON tournament having featured in the 2017 and 2019 finals in Cameroon and Egypt respectively.##NAJAVA_MECA_8650042##The Ugandan team, that will do duty in Morocco, will be largely constituted of young players given that the country has undergone massive rebuilding in the past two years.Aucho, who is expected to skipper the side, has called on the debutants, whom coach Paul Put will name in the team, not to succumb to stage fright, but instead take maximum advantage of the big stage and deliver.“This achievement is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and resilience of our team and determination have carried us through. For some of my teammates, this will be their first time playing in the AFCON. I can only imagine the excitement and nerves they must be feeling. To them, I say: ‘This is your moment! Give it your all and enjoy the experience. We are proud to have you represent our nation,” said the former Tusker man in an interview with CAF Online.Legendary midfielder insists exit of Puskas Award finalist will not affect Uganda Cranes in CHAN finalsLooking back at the qualifiers, Aucho said it would have been impossible for Cranes to punch a ticket to Morocco without the support of the fans.Cranes, unlike Harambee Stars, enjoyed massive fan support in home matches at the Mandela Stadium in Namboole.Can I play for you? Sure, get 100.000 retweets“To our fans, we couldn’t have done it without your unwavering support. Your energy, enthusiasm, and encouragement have driven us to push beyond our limits. We are honoured to represent Uganda on the biggest stage in African football. Let’s make our nation proud. Let’s show the continent what we’re capable of,” added the Yanga midfielder.Uganda’s best AFCON appearance was at the 1978 edition where they finished runners-up behind Ghana.
