The FUFA executive committee has asked the head coach of the national Senior side-The Uganda Cranes Mr Johnathan McKinstry to step aside from managing and coaching the team for the period from 2nd- 31st March 2021.
Assistant Coaches Mr Mubiru Abdallah, Mr Mbabazi Livingstone and goalkeeping coach Mr Fred Kajoba will take charge of the team during this period, according to a statement from FUFA.
“The rest of the Technical team remains unchanged. FUFA will use the period to assess and monitor the performance of the team. It is Our Game, It is Our Country,” the statement adds.
McKinstry was appointed Cranes coach in September 2019 on a three-year contract, replacing French national Sébastien Desabre.
McKinstry is the first person from Northern Ireland to manage three international football teams.
Previously McKinstry managed the Rwanda national team, the Sierra Leone national team, Kauno Žalgiris in the A Lyga and Saif SC of the Bangladesh Football Premier League. Whilst in charge of Sierra Leone, McKinstry was the youngest international manager in the world at 27 years old.
McKinstry has coached in several countries; Northern Ireland, England, USA, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Lithuania, Bangladesh and Uganda. His early career was focused on elite youth development through roles with Newcastle United, New York Red Bulls, the Right to Dream Academy and the Craig Bellamy Foundation.
In 2013 McKinstry moved into senior professional football when he was appointed manager of the Sierra Leone national football team, whom he guided to their highest ever FIFA World Ranking position. He has more recently been manager of the Rwanda national football team guiding them to the Final of the 2015 CECAFA Cup and Quarter Finals of the 2016 African Nations Championship, Kauno Žalgiris of Lithuania’s A Lyga and Saif SC of the Bangladesh Football Premier League.
McKinstry has also been linked with several other roles globally. In December 2017 he was shortlisted by the Ugandan FA for their national team manager position and in April 2018 was one of 77 applicants for the vacant Cameroon national team job. It was also confirmed by officials of the Football Association of Zambia in June 2018 that McKinstry had made the final 2-man shortlist of candidates under consideration to be named head coach of the Zambia national football team