McKinstry axed as Uganda football coach

Uganda fire senior men’s team coach

JOHANNESBURG, April 20 (ANA) – The Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) on Monday wielded the axe as its national men’s football team coach Johnathan McKinstry was fired.

“The head coach of the Uganda Men’s National team, Johnathan McKinstry, has today reached an agreement with Fufa to bring an end to his 18 months at the helm of the Uganda Cranes,” said a communication from FUFA.

McKinstry signed a three-year contract to handle the Cranes – as the men’s senior national team are known – in September 2019, and guided Uganda to victory in the regional 2019 Council of East and Central African Football Associations (Cecafa) Cup. He previously handled the national teams of Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

“Fufa would like to thank Coach McKinstry and his staff for the work and dedication to developing the Uganda Cranes during their tenure. We wish him well in all his future endeavors,” added the communication.

McKinstry was early last month suspended by Fufa ahead of the two Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying matches against Burkina Faso and Malawi.

The two matches were led by local coaches Abudallah Mubiru and Livingstone Mbabazi. Uganda failed to qualify for their third straight Afcon after drawing 0-0 with Burkina Faso in Kampala and losing 1-0 away to Malawi.

Uganda is expected to have a new coach when they battle in the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifications which start in June. The Cranes are placed in Group E alongside Mali, Rwanda and Kenya. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman