Frenchman Sébastien Desabre appointed coach of Uganda
The 41-year-old trainer will be handling his first national team.
French tactician Sébastien Desabre was unveiled on Thursday as the new Uganda Cranes coach.
The 41-year-old trainer was handed a 2-year-contract with the Uganda national football team. He will replace the Serbian Milutin Sredojevic who resigned in July.
Previously, Desabre had already trained on the African continent, having spells with teams in Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Angola, Morocco and most recently Egypt.
Desabre’s first task will be to prepare the Cranes for next month’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco.
Desabre: “I’m happy to be in Uganda”
At his unveiling, Desabre said that he is ready to make millions of Ugandans happy.
“I’m happy to be in Uganda to coach the Cranes and I’m ready for the challenge to make millions of Ugandans happy,” he said. “I’ve worked for a long time in Africa and I know a lot about African football. I am ready to serve the Cranes.”
Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) formulated a list with three other candidates to take over the post.
The Frenchman was chosen over Moses Basena, who has been serving as interim coach, Belgian Emilio Ferrera and Johnny McKinstry from Northern Ireland.
Desabre started his coaching career in 2004 as assistant for French side ESC Rocheville, team that he later head coached between 2006 and 2010.
In Africa, he has instructed at ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), Coton Sport Garoua (Cameroon), ES Tunis (Tunisia), CRD Libolo (Angola), Dubai Club (United Arab Emirates), JS Saoura (Algeria), Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco) and Ismaily (Egypt).
Uganda’s previous coach, Milutin Sredojevic, classified the Cranes for the 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, their first participation since 1978.
Desabre is expected to qualify Uganda for the 2019 edition in Cameroon.