KAMPALA, UGANDA: The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has sacked all head coaches of its national teams except Micho Milutin Sredojevic, the head coach of Uganda Cranes.
The ten coaching positions which are now vacant include the Kobs (Boys U23), Men’s U20 (Hippos), U17 (Cubs), U15 (Rhinos) – Women’s Team (Crested Cranes), U20 (Queen Cranes), U17 (Teen Cranes) – Men’s Beach Soccer and Futsal team.
While addressing the media at FUFA Complex in Mengo, Moses Magogo, the Federation President said decisions on the technical positions of all the football national teams were taken at the 28th Executive Committee meeting held on 18th March 2023.
“There were decisions taken during the 28th FUFA Executive Committee meeting but because the Uganda Cranes had games in that period, we held on to reveal them and this is the opportune time.”
“All positions of the ten Football National Teams are vacant with the exception of the Uganda Cranes positions,” said Magogo, adding that for the Uganda Cranes Head Coach position, an assessment will be made after the AFCON 2023 qualifying campaign.
The development comes against the backdrop of numerous calls in the media to sack Micho following recent Cranes’ struggles in their Nations Cup 2023 qualifying group.
Magogo answering to the calls said as FUFA, they cannot make decisions out of emotion. “The team may not be registering good results in the eyes of very many people, including myself and other well-intentioned Ugandans but we cannot be making critical decisions based on emotions.”
“We will analyse the performance of the technical team after the AFCON2023,” a defiant Magogo added.
On the form of the players, Magogo insisted the current Cranes squad is in transition. “We have heard voices calling for us to retire some players who may still have more to offer. We are in the middle of a transition, which is normal even in the most organised clubs and teams. Let us be patient with these players and introduce the youngsters gradually.”
Micho was reappointed coach in 2021 on a three year-contract to restore the Cranes to their former glory. His return was seen as a beacon of hope, as the national team had failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
His previous success saw him breaking the 39-year-old AFCON qualification jinx and leading the Cranes to the 2017 tournament. But his return has not generated the desired outcome as the Cranes have struggled to make a significant impact in the ongoing AFCON qualification tournament where they have registered only one win in four games and garnered four points.
The President confirmed National Teams have been classified into four categories and also indicated technical positions of national teams are now vacant.
The categories are as follows;
Senior Teams- Uganda Cranes and Uganda U23 (Kobs)
Junior Teams (Men)– U20 (The Hippos), U17 (The Cubs) and U15 (The Rhinos)
Women Teams -Crested Cranes, U20 (Queen Cranes) and U17 (Teen Cranes)
Other Teams – Beach Soccer (Sand Cranes) and Futsal (Nile Cranes)
In the other changes, the Uganda Cranes assistant coach will now double as the head coach of the U23 National Team.
Additionally, the goalkeeping coach and fitness trainer at the Uganda Cranes will head their respective departments, covering the rest of the national teams and will be fulltime employees of FUFA.
The Head coach of the Uganda U20 (The Hippos) will a fulltime job and he will also be the head of the junior teams’ docket.
The Head coach of the Senior Women’s National Team (Crested Cranes) will be assisted by coaches of the U20 (Queen Cranes) and U17 (Teen Cranes).
Goalkeeping coaches and fitness trainers across all the national teams are as well vacant and the President called on competent Ugandans to apply for the jobs.
“We call upon all competent Ugandans to apply for these jobs when the process opens up.” He stated.
FUFA also announced that Uganda will host the CECAFA U15 Boys Championship this year. Since the inaugural edition in 2019, the tournament has not been held again.
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