In 2019, Tanzania defeated Uganda 4-2 in the quarter finals on their way to winning the U20 CECAFA Challenge cup.
The defeat was on that was hard to take by the Ugandan football community especially after all the expectations that had been placed on the Hippos going into their home tournament.
Twelve months down the road, Uganda has humbled Tanzania 4-1 to win the 2020 CECAFA U20 Challenge Cup that was hosted in Tanzania.
A goal each by Najib Yiga, Steven Sserwadda, Ivan Bogere and Aziz Kayondo did the trick for the Hippos while Hamis Sulaiman netted for Tanzania.
Yiga opened the scoring on 12 minutes before Sulaiman levelled matters on 31 minutes. At the stroke of half-time, Sserwadda restored Uganda’s lead setting the tone for Bogere and Kayondo to put the game beyond Tanzania in the second half.
Having seen Tanzania lift the trophy at their-own patch, it felt more like revenge for the Hippos who also sealed qualification to the 2021 Africa Cup of nations U20 tournament that will be hosted in Mauritania.
Speaking after the game, Byekwaso was over the moon about the victory and agreed that it was revenge exerted on Tanzania.
“I thank God for what he has done for me, the team and the nation as a whole. Said Byekwaso.
“The boys have fought from the beginning to the end. We were expecting this because we knew it was a final.
“Tanzania beat us 4-2 in Uganda last time out in the quarter finals and celebrated alot. We had that pain and still had it in our hearts and that’s why we went out for revenge.”
All the players who were with the Hippos at the tournament will receive a token of appreciation of $1000.
The triumph in the U20 CECAFA Challenge cup this year further proves Uganda’s dominance in the CECAFA region having also won the regional tournament in the U15 and U17 (Boys), U17 (Girls), the Senior Challenge Cup (Men’s National teams) plus the Kagame Cup which was won by KCCA FC last year.
