Uganda Cranes coach Paul Put could have an even larger attacking pool to choose from as preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations gather pace.
FUFA on Sunday revealed that Arnold Vula and Kelvin Owusu Boateng are among players being pursued through its worldwide heritage recruitment programme.
The federation says consultants identified more than 200 professional players eligible for Uganda before Put and his technical team reduced the initial list to 20.
Vula, 27, plays for Beerschot in Belgium’s second division and qualifies for Uganda through his paternal grandmother, who was born in Pakwach.
The Congolese-born forward arrives on Cranes’s radar with a particularly productive recent record at club level.
Vula scored 12 goals and provided 4 assists in 26 league appearances for Beerschot during the 2025/26 campaign, playing 2,009 minutes.
FBref’s latest available figures for the current season record another 3 goals and 1 assist from his opening 4 league appearances.
That takes his Beerschot league return across the two campaigns to 15 goals and 5 assists in 30 appearances.
Boateng, meanwhile, is playing at a higher domestic level with Austria Vienna in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Born in Accra on March 24, 2000, the 6ft 0in centre-forward qualifies through a Ugandan-born grandparent and developed at Ghana’s Right to Dream Academy.
Before joining Austria Vienna, Boateng scored 21 goals in 43 Austrian second-tier appearances for First Vienna, including 11 during the 2024/25 campaign.
His first season with Austria Vienna produced 4 league goals from 20 appearances and 613 minutes during the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign.
Boateng has followed that with 1 goal and 2 assists from 7 Bundesliga appearances and 296 minutes this season, according to Austria’s official league statistics.
Their emergence adds another dimension to an Uganda attack already containing several forwards at different stages of their careers.
Put’s squad for the September international window includes Rogers Mato, James Bogere, Richard Basangwa, Steven Mukwala, Denis Omedi, Hassan Mubiru and Frank Ssebufu among the forwards.
Bogere, 18, is gradually establishing himself in senior football with Danish Superliga side AGF after progressing through Uganda’s youth national teams.
He was part of the Uganda Cubs squad that competed at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar, where Uganda reached the round of 16 in their maiden appearance at the tournament.
Bogere made his first 3 Danish Superliga appearances last season before earning a bigger role with AGF in 2026/27.
He has already made 8 league appearances this season, including 4 starts, scoring once in 361 minutes of football.
Mato’s recent league minutes with Hearts have been more limited, with 3 Scottish Premiership appearances last season and one appearance so far this campaign.
His contribution for Uganda has, however, been more immediate, with the attacker scoring the equaliser as the Cranes opened their AFCON qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Tunisia.
Richard Basangwa has also started the new Uganda Premier League season brightly after joining NEC earlier this year.
The forward scored against KCCA in NEC’s 2-0 opening-day victory before finding the net again in a 3-1 win over Lugazi three days later.
Frank Ssebufu comes into the current national team setup after a productive 2025/26 campaign with SC Villa with 9 goals and 5 assists from 25 Uganda Premier League appearances last season.
His 9 goals placed him among the league’s leading scorers as Villa finished the campaign with the forward playing an important role in attack.
Steven Mukwala carries a longer scoring record across several African leagues.
The 27-year-old scored 13 goals in 28 league appearances for Simba during the 2024/25 Tanzanian season before moving to Libya during the following campaign.
He subsequently registered 5 goals in 11 league appearances for Al-Nasr after previously playing 5 matches for Simba earlier in 2025/26.
Hassan Mubiru earned his move from SC Villa to Azam after recording 4 goals and 4 assists in 28 Uganda Premier League appearances last season.
He has already opened his league account in Tanzania, scoring against Namungo after contributing two assists during the early weeks of the campaign.
The widening pool comes as FUFA attempts to identify the strongest possible squad before Uganda co-hosts AFCON 2027 alongside Kenya and Tanzania.
FUFA says the ongoing qualifiers will also be used to identify players and develop cohesion ahead of the 2027 AFCON finals, while engagement and documentation continue for other heritage players identified by the federation.