Paul Put's One Year at Uganda Cranes: Honest Assessment Before the Qualifiers Begin

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Paul Put has been coaching the Uganda Cranes for over a year. He came into the job after Uganda's early exit from AFCON 2025 in Morocco and with a clear brief: prepare the Cranes to represent Uganda well at a home AFCON in 2027. How he uses the June window in Marrakech, the September qualifier opener against Botswana, and the subsequent qualifier campaign will define whether that preparation is on track or whether there are structural problems that need addressing urgently.

The honest summary after the Morocco friendly camp is that Uganda have individual quality but are still working on the collective organisation that strong teams have as a default setting. The AFCON 2025 group stage exit told you that. The early games under Put have confirmed it. The system is clearer than it was twelve months ago. The defensive shape is better. But the attacking combination that produces goals consistently is still being found.

Where the Improvement Is Real

Put has broadened the squad. He is genuinely looking at new players rather than recycling the same group. The June Marrakech window against Tanzania and Madagascar gives fringe players a chance to stake a claim and Put has shown he is willing to change his team based on what he sees rather than defaulting to what is comfortable. That is the most encouraging thing about his management so far. The best Uganda national team coaches have always been willing to surprise people. Put seems to be in that category.

The Scoring Problem That Has to Be Solved

Uganda's central weakness is goals. The Cranes have not consistently found a forward who scores in important qualifier games under Put. This is the single most important thing the June Marrakech window is supposed to address. If one forward emerges from the Tanzania and Madagascar games as a clear first choice who can be trusted to score at home against Botswana in September, Put has solved his biggest problem. If the window ends without that clarity, he has a difficult decision to make before the qualifiers start. For Ugandan bettors, the fringe forward who scores against Madagascar on June 8 in Marrakech is the player to back in the Botswana qualifier at prices that have not yet been properly formed by the market.

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