KAMPALA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's national team has stepped up preparations for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Africa qualifiers.

Eight nations will compete in the regional tournament from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7 in Windhoek, Namibia.

Head coach Deus Muhumuza told Xinhua on Monday that the team is in good shape and will travel to Namibia in the coming days. "We had some matches during a tournament in Rwanda over a month ago and we have continued to step up our training," said Muhumuza.

He said the target is to secure a top-two finish to advance to the global qualifiers. "We need to treat every match at the qualifiers like a final because every team will be eager to advance to the next stage," he added.

Janet Mbabazi, one of Uganda's key players, said they are preparing for a challenging campaign in Namibia. "We are putting in a lot of effort because we want to carry the national flag high," she said.

Uganda's Victoria Pearls will face hosts Namibia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. ■