Paul Put will oversee one of Uganda Cranes’ busiest international programmes, with four matches scheduled across only twelve calendar days.
Uganda begin away against Tunisia on September 24 before returning home to face Libya in Hoima five days later.
Three days after the Libya qualifier, the Cranes are scheduled to meet DR Congo before facing the Leopards again on October 5.
The programme falls inside the extended international window running from September 21 to October 6, combining competitive qualifiers with two friendlies.
CAF has scheduled Tunisia against Uganda for 7pm GMT, while Uganda host Libya at 4pm GMT on September 29.
Those kickoff times translate to 10pm East African Time in Tunisia and 7pm East African Time for Uganda’s home fixture.
CAF’s published fixture list confirms the dates and kickoff times, although it does not publicly attach Hoima to the Libya encounter.
Sports Minister Peter Ogwang has previously confirmed Hoima City Stadium as Uganda’s venue, with preparations already underway for the Cranes’ visit.
FUFA has also confirmed two friendlies against DR Congo, while Congolese reports place both matches in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The first friendly is scheduled for October 2, with the second meeting following three days later on October 5.
If the programme remains unchanged, Uganda will travel from Tunisia to Hoima before heading south again immediately after facing Libya.
Put therefore has five days between Tunisia and Libya, followed by only three days before each of the DR Congo friendlies.
That compressed schedule makes recovery and squad rotation almost as important as tactical preparation, especially for players arriving from demanding club programmes.
Put has selected 28 players, giving his technical team enough options to manage minutes across competitive matches and demanding international friendlies.
The opening two fixtures remain important despite Uganda already qualifying automatically for AFCON 2027 as one of three tournament co-hosts.
Tunisia, Libya and Botswana are competing for the only additional qualification place available from Group H alongside automatically qualified Uganda.
The DR Congo friendlies should then provide Put greater freedom to test combinations after assessing preferred options during the qualifiers.
DR Congo are preparing for Group E qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe before the reported Johannesburg meetings with Uganda.
For Put, the challenge involves balancing immediate competitive performance with the longer process of building Uganda’s strongest possible AFCON squad.
The qualifiers provide pressure, the friendlies offer experimentation, while the heavy travel schedule adds another examination of Uganda’s adaptability and recovery.
Across twelve days, Put will learn considerably more about his squad’s depth, resilience and readiness than another conventional international break could reveal.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Denis Onyango – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), David Lukwago – SC Villa (Uganda) and Hannington Ssebwalunyo – NEC FC (Uganda).
Defenders: Toby Sibbick – Burton Albion FC (England), Jonathan Odongo – UPPC FC (Uganda), Rogers Torach – CS Constantine (Algeria), Aziizi Kayondo – FC Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic), Herbert Achayi – KCCA FC (Uganda), Herbert Bockhorn – FC Magdeburg (Germany), Nathan Asiimwe – Salford City FC (England), Geofrey Lubanga Kene – SC Villa (Uganda), Hillary Mukundane – Vipers SC (Uganda) and Gavin Kizito – Nairobi United FC (Kenya).
Midfielders: Baba Alhassan – Mardin 1996 Spor (Turkey), Noble Okello – Lexington SC (USA), Kenneth Semakula – Al Ittihad Alexandria Club (Egypt), Allan Oyirwoth – Dunfermline FC (Scotland) and Joseph Seremba – Nairobi United FC (Kenya).
Forwards: Allan Okello – AS FAR (Morocco), James Bogere – AGF (Denmark), Travis Mutyaba – CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), Denis Omedi – Gor Mahia FC (Kenya), Rogers Mato – Hearts FC (Scotland), Hassan Mubiru – Azam FC (Tanzania), Sadam Masereka – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (USA), Steven Mukwala – Al Nasr SC (Libya), Richard Basangwa – NEC FC (Uganda) and Frank Ssebufu – SC Villa (Uganda).