The Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) says the country’s football team, Uganda Cranes, was not in any way affected by the earthquake that struck Morocco late Friday night.
The powerful earthquake killed more than 800 people and damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.
The team had on Thursday played its final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger in Marrakech, which created fear among Ugandans that it was still in Morocco at the time of the calamity.
However, Ahmed Hussein Marsha, the head communications at FUFA, says the team left Marrakech on the very day the game was played, and it will arrive in the country today Saturday September 9.
“The entire Contingent left Marrakech on Thursday. Only the National Teams’ Officer stayed behind as he was finalizing the usual travel and accommodation protocols of the team until the last player or official of the team leaves the official team Hotel,” Ahmed Hussein says.
“Mukatabala is safe and doing well health-wise. He will fly out as per schedule. The Uganda Cranes contingent will touch base this afternoon at Entebbe International Airport while foreign based players have already connected to their respective clubs,” he adds.
FUFA has also said they sympathize with the people of Morocco for the lost lives and destroyed property.
Morroco’s state television showed people clustered in the streets of Marrakech, afraid to go back inside buildings that might still be unstable. Many wrapped themselves in blankets as they tried to sleep outside.
The magnitude 6.8 quake was the hardest to hit Morocco in 120 years, and it toppled buildings and walls in ancient cities made from stone and masonry not designed to withstand quakes.