Uganda won the southern African Cosafa Women’s Under-17 Championship trophy on Sunday after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over South Africa in Port Louis.
Uganda struck first after the break through Fauzia Najjemba on 56 minutes with Batwana hitting back from a Tiffany Kortjie header 18 minutes later.
The winner for Uganda came just four minutes from time after Juliet Nalukenge made it 2-1 in the 86th minute.
“The match was a bit hard but the girls followed the instructions perfectly,” Uganda coach Khalifa Ayub told BBC Sport.
“Even when South Africa equalised, they got the zeal and determination which has helped them to win.”
Uganda were a guest team at the tournament and coach Ayub felt the general levels of play were low.
“In our Cecafa region [Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations] we have got teams which are strong with Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda,” Ayub said.
“For Cosafa, some teams’ levels are very low compared to South Africa.
“It is a very good initiative and we must keep inviting other teams and they will improve in the coming years.”
Jessica Leigh Wade of South Africa received the Player of the Tournament award from a championship where scoring was prolific.
158 goals were scored in 16 matches – with Uganda’s Juliet Nalukenge receiving the highest scorer award with 18 goals.
“I’m very happy today is my best day as I scored the winning goal,” Juliet told BBC Sport.
“It was a very good competition for me as I scored in every game.
“I want to play in USA to meet U.S. women’s national team star Alex Morgan as I am big fan of her”.
Zambia took bronze after beating Botswana 3-0 earlier in the day.
