Paul Put Named New Uganda Cranes Head Coach
Burkina Faso's manager Paul Put served a three-year ban in his native Belgium for match-fixing
By Emma Amooti
Since yesterday news in corridors was saying next Cranes coach could be a German but finally at today’s Fufa media briefing at Mengo news has it that Belgian Tactician Paul Put has been named the new Uganda Cranes head coach.
The Belgium was unveiled today (Thursday) morning at the Federation of Uganda Football Associations offices in Mengo.
Paul now replaces Milutin Micho as the Uganda Cranes head coach after the Serbian was kicked out following yet another unsuccessful AFCON qualification campaign which saw Uganda finish 3rd in a group that had Algeria, Tanzania and Niger.
Put was manager of the Gambian national team between 2008 and 2011, before being appointed as manager of Burkina Faso in March 2012. He had previously managed Belgian club sides Geel, Lokeren and Lierse, before being banned for three-years by the Royal Belgian Football Association for his alleged involvement in the Ye Zheyun match-fixing scandal.
Put left his role as Burkina Faso manager in February 2015,before becoming manager of Jordan in June 2015.Following a two-week suspension by the Jordan Football Association on 20 December 2015, Put resigned his position as manager of the Jordan national team in January 2016. He was shortlisted for the Guinea national team job in July 2016.
On 30 October 2016, he was announced as manager of Algerian club USM Alger, on a two-year contract. In February 2017 he was one of a number of managers on the shortlist for the vacant Rwanda national team manager role. He became the manager of the Kenyan national team in November 2017, before resigning in February 2018.
He became manager of Chinese club Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard later that month, signing a three-year contract. In March 2018 he was appointed manager of the Guinea national team.He was sacked in July 2019.
It should be noted that, The Guinea Football Federation (Feguifoot) placed a life ban on former Guinea coach Paul Put and a seven year suspension on the federation’s vice president, Amadou Diaby.
Feguifoot’s ethics commission ruled that both Put and Diaby had allegedly breached the institution’s code of ethics and its code of discipline.
By Then at 63-year-old Put was in charge of Guinea at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations where the Syli Nationale exited the tournament in the round of 16.
Feguifoot’s ethics commission confirmed both men have also been handed hefty fines following an investigation, with Paul Put ordered to pay 100,000 euros (approximately US$ 110,944) while Amadou Diaby has been fined 25,000 euros (approximately US$ 27,736) .
Belgian tactician Paul Put was sacked by Guinea amidst an “atmosphere of mistrust,” according to the Guinea Federation.
On 1st October 2019, Put was appointed sporting director of Wydad Casablanca.
Put does not have a worthy record as a footballer but has been coaching since the late 19th century, starting out in his native Belgium.
He has immense experience on the Africa continent, taking charge of two club sides and five national teams.
Following Micho’s departure, Morley Byekwaso took charge of the team on an interim basis whose tenure saw him lead the Cranes to two losses in the last international friendly window, losing to both Mali and Zambia.
Meanwhile, Uganda returns to action this month in the World Cup qualifiers where they will face Guinea and Somalia on the 17th and 21st respectively. Both fixtures will be played away from home.
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