Basena set for contract extension

Moses Basena

KAMPALA- Fufa will this week extend Moses Basena’s reign as Uganda Cranes’ interim coach until the end of the year which will see him complete the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

A source has told Daily Monitor that the federation has deferred the decision to appoint a coach permanently which will allow Basena stir the national team in the remaining games against Ghana and Congo Brazzaville.
The Black Stars visit Uganda on October 7 before a trip to Brazzaville in November with Cranes hoping to upstage group E leaders Egypt for the lone slot to Russia.

Egypt have nine points, Uganda seven and Ghana five. The UPDF coach was appointed head coach, along with goalkeeping coach Fred Kajoba, in the aftermath of Micho Sredojevic departure last month.

“Fufa have already reached a decision and Basena will be allowed to continue. It makes no sense to hire a coach for a campaign they have carried this far,” the source said.
Adding that; “They will let them continue until the World Cup qualifiers finish, then hire a coach to take the job heading into (next year’s Chan) and (the resumption of) the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March.”
However, this newspaper also learnt that it’s highly unlikely that Basena, 49, will get the job on a permanent basis when Fufa choose to appoint a head coach.

Back to UPDF
If the decision to retain Basena, currently coaching army side UPDF, is ratified, Fufa president Moses Magogo will have reneged on his word at the time of appointing the pair when Micho joined South Africa’s Orlando Pirates.
“As FUFA, we sat as a family (officials and immediate former players) and decided that they carry on an interim basis until after the Egypt matches home and away,” Magogo said last month.

In that time, Basena has won two and lost two, leading Uganda to the Africa Nations Championship for the fourth successive time and beating Egypt for the first time in 52 years.
In several interviews, Basena, an assistant under Micho, has claimed not be too bothered with what will happen from hereon. Besides keeping Basena or not, Fufa must decide on whether to keep Ibrahim Sekagya and Matia Lule.
Ex-Cranes skipper Sekagya and Lule, who resigned from Express recently, were appointed, on Basena’s request, to join the technical team for the double-header against the Pharaohs.

In the immediate aftermath of Micho leaving, Scot Bobby Williamson, the man replaced by the Serb, and Belgian Luc Eyamel were cited as possible replacements. All those rumours have since quietened.