McKinstry thrilled by Chan approval

What came through more prominently when Caf announced a series of moved and cancelled events on Tuesday was the postponement of Afcon finals from January 2021 to the same time the following year.

That meant that coach Johnny McKinstry would have to wait at least an extra year before enjoying a chance to lead Uganda to his first Afcon finals and Cranes third in succession.

“Of course there is a sense of frustration in that but also, in the bigger picture, I know, and the players know our goals haven’t changed,” explained McKinstry.

“We still want to go back to Afcon and improve on previous performances and we know that the World Cup (qualifiers) we are in over the next 18 months gives us a lot of opportunity.”

But amidst Afcon postponement came some other piece of encouraging news for McKinstry and his players, who can now look forward to Chan after it was confirmed for January 2021.

“It’s a big motivator for the players,” said McKinstry of the tournament that was originally due April this year in Cameroon, but because of Coronavirus pandemic was postponed.

“Players were all a little bit concerned that the tournament could be cancelled altogether, because from the original schedule, it was just difficult to see where it could sit in.”

McKinstry, a 2016 Chan quarterfinalist with Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars, was speaking to the Fufa website. “It’s (Chan) just six months away, and speaking to a number of the players and the staff, the mentality is that it’s really close.

“So right now everybody is really focused, they are energized. The UPL doesn’t start until October but I know they are hungry to get back on the field.” The 34-year-old added: “As the national team department, we’ve already started putting together some plans for training in the near future.

CHAN POOLS
Group A: Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe
Group B: Libya, DR Congo, Congo, Niger
Group C: Morocco, Rwanda, Togo, Uganda
Group D: Zambia, Guinea, Namibia, Tanzania