KAMPALA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Uganda Cranes head coach Sebastien Desabre said Saturday that his major target will be guiding Uganda to qualification for the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Speaking to Xinhua, the French-born tactician said his major tasks will be getting Uganda back to the big stage of the 2019 AFCON and 2020 African Nations Championship.
"Since I am also in-charge of the junior teams I will target qualifying the U-23 team for Olympics and getting the U-20 team to the FIFA U-20 World Cup," he added.
Uganda Cranes already lead Group L of the 2019 Total AFCON qualifiers after they beat Cape Verde 1-0 in the opening match. The other teams in the group include Tanzania and Lesotho. Uganda broke the 39- year jinx to qualify for the 2017 AFCON in Gabon.
Desabre who returned last weekend after meeting some of the Uganda Cranes senior players in Europe said he has embarked on serious work by watching and evaluating players during Uganda Premier League matches.
"During CHAN in Morocco I evaluated all the players and the staff I was working with and now I know what to expect. I am more than motivated to improve the team because I think Ugandan players are gifted, but need to change a few things and also work on the physical fitness and conditioning," he said.
Desabre said he is going to speak to local club coaches and have sessions with them on how to prepare the physical condition of players during off season and during the season because he thinks it is the biggest challenge.
"I will give my maximum input to improve Ugandan teams, but I also need support from all stakeholders," he added.
Eng. Moses Magogo, the Ugandan FA President also said they will ask all Premier League teams to have fully certified fitness coaches because it is evident fitness is a major problem.
"We are going to make sure all teams have fitness coaches because this will translate to making work easier for the national teams," he said.
