By Norman Katende and Agencies

Uganda Cranes captain Andy Mwesigwa has called on Ugandans not to abandon the team following their failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals due in South Africa early 2013.

Cranes were eliminated through penalties by Zambia's Chipololo at Namboole last Saturday in a thrilling game that ended very emotional for the home fans.

Mwesigwa was one of the two Cranes players that missed his penalty.

“If there is anyone who was hurt most, then it is the players," he said, “when it comes to penalties, no one is a master."

Mwesigwa took charge of the team as captain from Ibrahim Sekagya, who now plays for FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria.

Elsewhere, Ethiopia beat rival Sudan two-nil (2-0) on Sunday in the return leg of the African Cup of Nations qualification in Addis Ababa to become East Africa’s only representatives to the major tournament.

Cape Verde - a country with a population of about 500,000, also edged out Cameroon to join the other 14 countries due to compete in the tournament.

The “Walya Antelopes” of Ethiopia took the lead after Adane Girma scored the first goal in the 63rd minute.

Three minutes later the well-known Ethiopian striker Salhadin Seid scored a second goal that confirmed the team’s qualification.

This will be the first time Ethiopia has qualified for the African Cup of Nations in 31 years.

The other finalists are Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia.