Crested Cranes hope to find triumph in harmony

Bulega (L) believes the addition of Khalifan (C) to a technical team that already had Kaziba and Olive Mbekeka (R) improves the chances of Crested Cranes triumphing at the Cecafa Women Challenge Cup. Photo byJohn Batanudde

Kampala- In many ways the addition of Ayub Khalifan to the Crested Cranes technical team set up ahead of the Cecafa Women Challenge Cup that starts today in Tanzania is intriguing.

First, Khalifan has never had to work under any coach but you would bet it is something he is comfortable with after rising from the shadows of Abubakar Bbuye – a former games teacher at Kawempe Muslim SS – to not only become the head of the sports department but also forge his way into becoming a renowned football coach.

Khalifan – who has won four Fufa Women Elite League (FWEL) titles, a couple of secondary schools trophies and recently gold at the Cosafa U-17 Women’s Championships in Mauritius – will be head coach Faridah Bulega’s second deputy with SC Villa coach Edward Kaziba as her first lieutenant.

Khalifan finds a functional team in place – one that defended resolutely and relied on set-pieces to overwhelm opponents on their way to bagging silver at Cecafa 2018 and bronze at Cosafa 2018.
His approach both at Kawempe Muslim and the Cosafa U-17 winning team – that scored 46 goals in five games – has been based more on possession and expansiveness.

That is basically why his addition as a different scholar of the beautiful game was greeted with scepticism. The fact that Kawempe Muslim and Bulega’s Kampala Queens had been involved in a protracted transfer battle for their new respective players Shamirah Nalugya and Fauzia Najjemba from Isra Academy did not help the public distrust.

“I do not understand such concerns because I have always been happy to work with anyone,” Khalifan told SCORE after his appointment was announced by Fufa deputy chief executive officer in-charge of national teams Decolas Kizza.

Bulega was equally excited about the prospect of working with Khalifan and after the residential camp that ended Thursday, summed up their combination as the “best there is in women’s football.”

“We have worked as a team on every department of the squad. Wherever we feel there is something missing, we brainstorm and work on it as a team,” Bulega said.

From this kind of harmony, the coaching trio has found a togetherness that they hope will inspire something big at Chamanzi Stadium starting tomorrow. It is also not lost on them that the Crested Cranes need to improve from winning silver last year to ultimately taking gold.

From their three friendly games during their camp at Njeru Technical Centre, Crested Cranes are expected to vary approach depending on the opposition. They will keep to defending resolutely but will also build an expansive game from the back whenever they can.

The forwards have had a tough time adapting to the latter kind of game since it demands patience as the ball takes long to get to them but Bulega sees light at the end of the tunnel.
“We do create lots of chances now but we would like to utilize more of them. I think everyone in the team knows what we want to do and what is left is talking to the strikers to play with more calmness, they just need a psychological boost,” she explained.

CRESTED CRANES SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Daisy Nakaziro (Lady Doves), Ruth Aturo (UCU Lady Cardinals), Joan Namusisi (Isra Academy)
Defenders: Viola Namuddu (Makerere University), Shadia Nankya (UCU), Bridget Nabisaalu (She Corporate), Eunice Ariokot (Olila HS), Grace Aluka (Kawempe Muslim), Aisha Namukisa (Kampala Queens).
Midfielders: Asia Nakibuuka (Kawempe), Riticia Nabbosa (Lady Doves), Amina Nababi (Makerere), Fauzia Najjemba, Harriet Nakuba (Kampala Queens)

Crested Cranes’ Fixtures at Chamanzi
November 17
Uganda vs. Djibouti
November 19
Uganda vs. Ethiopia
November 21
Kenya vs. Uganda
*Group A: Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
*Group B: Tanzania, Burundi, Zanzibar and South Sudan.