Former Harambee Stars coach Paul Put unveiled as new Uganda Cranes manager

2nd November 2023 - by Stephen Ochieng

Put is famously remembered for steering Kenya to the 2017 CECAFA tournament, the last ever trophy won by the national team.

SUMMARY

The 67-year old tactician was unveiled on a two-year deal in a press briefing held at FUFA House.
The Belgian will replace Milutin Sredojevic aka Micho who parted ways with FUFA in September this year.
The first task for Put will be the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where Uganda will face Guinea and Somalia with both games to be played in Morocco.

Former Harambee Stars coach Paul Put has been unveiled as the new manager of the Uganda Cranes national men’s football team, the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) have confirmed on Thursday morning.

The 67-year old tactician was unveiled on a two-year deal in a press briefing held at FUFA House and will replace Milutin Sredojevic aka Micho who parted ways with FUFA in September this year.

“Official. The new Uganda Cranes head coach, Paul Put. Welcome coach,” FUFA posted on their social media pages.

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The first task for Put will be the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers where Uganda will face Guinea and Somalia with both games to be played in Morocco.

Put was in charge of the Harambee Stars from November 2017 to February 2018 and is famously remembered for steering the team to clinching the 2017 CECAFA tournament, the last ever trophy won by the national team.

In that competition staged in Kenya, Harambee Stars beat Zanzibar 3-2 on post-match penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

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Speaking on his appointment, FUFA President Moses Magogo outlined why the federation settled on the Belgian to lead the team going into the future.

"FUFA rolled out an application process and we got over 150 coaches including 2 Ugandans who applied for the job. After thorough analysis, the FUFA Executive zeroed down on Mr. Paul Put and we believe he will do a good job.

"He helped Burkina Faso reach the final of AFCON in 2013, guided Guinea to a quarterfinal finish and also helped The Gambia to qualify for AFCON. With such a CV, we believe the coach will do a good job here," Magogo said.

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"This time, we have allowed the coach to appoint his own backroom staff and he is coming with five other people from Belgium. However, there will be Ugandans who will work as part of the backroom staff," the FUFA President added.