Local coaches lacking qualifications for Cranes job

By James Bakama

THE job of Cranes coach is up for grabs but as things stand, Ugandan tacticians could be outcompeted if qualifications are anything to go by.

Foreign applicants are presenting papers that make Ugandans look like “real amateurs” for a job that requires not only a highly trained professional, but also an experienced tactician.

One of the applicants Tom Saintflet holds the highest coaching license- the UEFA Pro License while another Giuseppe Dossena also boasts of several coaching papers, a Degree in Political Science and Masters Degrees in Business and Leadership.

Very high standards have been set for coaches in countries that take the sport seriously.

Besides the basic qualifications, which many of Uganda’s coaches have, there is more specialized training where tacticians are drilled for several months if they are to operate in the top tier.

A coaching diploma stretching to a year is regarded as the basic qualification in Europe and South America. Coaches and managers are thereafter expected to pursue administration and pro-licensing courses.

But as football stands in Uganda today, only two local coaches: Sam Timbe and Fred Kajoba have undergone such intensive training.

Timbe, a celebrated tactician in the CECAFA region, trained in Brazil for a year while Kajoba was in England for a similar period for UEFA coaching courses.

Patrick Kabuye, who holds a Masters Degree in Kinesiology and several coaching and sports management certificates, is another Ugandan with solid coaching qualifications.

According to Confederation of African Football standards, the CAF and German licences that most Ugandans possess, can serve as basic qualifications of handling even national teams.

But CAF and Uganda Cranes Media Officer Katende Malibu insists that coaches need much more.

“These one to three months courses that our coaches have attended are more like seminars or workshops. That is surely not enough for a big team. The best that our coaches can manage is local clubs,” argues Malibu.

To qualify for the UEFA Pro-Licence one needs to undergo a year-long course which involves around 240 hours of study combining a mixture of distance learning, online learning and conference calls. Once this has been successfully completed there is a residential study week at University of Warwick

Most of Uganda’s top coaches are products of CAF and German DFB courses. These range from two to three weeks.

CAF recently started classifying its courses. It now has the C, B and A levels. A course for level C was  held in Kampala. One for level B , where all Ugandan coaches who attained the German DFB certificate have been placed, will soon be held.

Those who pass the CAF B level tests will be eligible for the top grade. It is coaches at this level who will be eligible for coaching in the super league and the national team.

The issue of qualifications is in the news after the job of Cranes coach became vacant following the sacking of Scotsman Bobby Williamson.

Williamson was sacked for failing to deliver on his prime target of leading the Cranes to the Africa Cup of Nations. Local coaches have shown interest in the job just like several foreign tacticians.

FUFA vice president (technical) Livingstone Kyambadde said local and foreign coaches will be judged similarly. “If the best applicant is a Ugandan, he will take the job.”

But unlike Malibu, Uganda Football Coaches Association chairman Paul Ssali argues that academic or course qualifications are not a measure for performance.

Ssali cites a veteran Ugandan coach who trained in then West German for a year in the seventies but was never the best tactician.

Those who concur with Ssali also refer to one of Uganda’s most successful club tacticians Bidandi Ssali who moulded Super League side KCC into a giant in the seventies.