KAMPALA – The Ugandan Football Association has unveiled Johnny McKinstry as the new coach for the Cranes national team.
The former Rwanda national team coach has been roped in to lead the East Africans for the next three years.
According to the BBC Sport website, the 34-year-old will be assisted by Abdullah Mubiru until McKinstry names his technical team in the near future.
McKinstry replaces French tactician Sebastien Desabre who parted ways with Uganda at the end of the 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
“There is no doubt the Uganda job is one of the best international jobs in Africa in terms of the direction we are going and level of competitiveness and ambition,” said McKinstry.
“The quality of players that I will now have the opportunity to work with is a group of players I feel we can achieve a lot with.
“We want to go to the World Cup – that is not easy, it is very difficult.
“I want it to happen in 2022 but it may not happen in 2022 but in 2026 but I have that burning desire to take this team to the world stage.”
Formerly in charge of Sierra Leone and Rwanda, the new coach was most recently in charge of SAIF Sporting Club in Bangladesh.
PICTORIAL: Unveiling of the new @UgandaCranes Head coach @johnnymckinstry.
Welcome to Uganda pic.twitter.com/ybioIXKM7o— FUFA (@OfficialFUFA) September 30, 2019
He is expected to qualify Uganda to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon with the Cranes’ Nations Cup qualifying campaign beginning in November as they contest Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Malawi and either South Sudan or Seychelles.
McKinstry was named on Uganda shortlist in 2017 to replace Serbian Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic, only for Desabre to be appointed instead.
Meanwhile, he led the Amavubi of Rwanda to the final of the 2015 Cecafa (East and Central African) Championships in 2015 while also achieving the country’s highest placing at major tournament the following year.
In 2016, the Amavubi reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Nations Championship (Chan), losing to eventual winners DR Congo 2-1 in extra-time.
McKinstry holds a Uefa Pro Licence and has coached on four continents including Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
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