Hailegebreal appointed coach of Uganda's women's national football teams

Ethiopian coach Asefa Firew Hailegebreal has been appointed the new head coach of Uganda’s women’s national football teams.

Hailegebreal was confirmed by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) on Friday at the federation headquarters in Mengo, Kampala. He has signed a two-year contract and will oversee the senior Crested Cranes, Queen Cranes (U20) and Teen Cranes (U17).

He takes over after FUFA and former coach Sheryl Ulanda Botes agreed not to renew her contract, ending her three-year spell in charge.

Hailegebreal is returning to Uganda after spending the last two years with Kampala Queens, which has since been rebranded KCCA Women FC. During his time at the club, he guided the team to the FUFA Women Super League and FUFA Women’s Cup titles.

He had previously coached Ethiopia’s senior and junior women’s national teams before moving to Uganda.

His appointment comes at an important time, with the Crested Cranes preparing for a two-legged Olympic qualifier against Zambia.

Uganda will host Zambia in the first leg on October 8 before travelling to Lusaka for the return leg on October 13. The winner on aggregate will face either Ghana or the winner between Mauritius and Djibouti in the next round. Only two African teams will qualify for the 2028 Olympic women’s football tournament in Los Angeles.

The Crested Cranes began preparations on Monday under assistant coach Collines Ahumuza, who led the first training session at MTN Omondi Stadium, Lugogo, following Botes’ departure.

Botes was appointed in November 2023 and also oversaw the Queen Cranes and Teen Cranes.

During her tenure, she guided the Teen Cranes to their second straight CECAFA U17 Women’s Championship title in Tanzania. Uganda won all five matches, scored 26 goals and kept five clean sheets before beating Tanzania 3-0 in the final.

She also led the Queen Cranes to a bronze medal at the 2024 African Games in Ghana.

The senior team, however, had mixed results at the 2025 CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship, losing to Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania, while recording a 5-0 win over South Sudan.

The appointment of Hailegebreal also comes as the FUFA Women Super League takes a break to allow selected players to join the national team camp. The league is scheduled to resume on October 17.

Uganda’s current Olympic qualifying squad includes 20 locally based players from clubs and school teams. KCCA Women have five players, Kawempe Muslim Ladies three, while St Noa Girls and Amus College Women have two each.

She Maroons, Rines Secondary School, UCU Lady Cardinals, Uganda Martyrs Lubaga, BUL Women, MUBS-Nakawa, Luweero Giant Queens and She Corporate have one player each in the squad.