Vietnam-based Moses Oloya will join his Cranes teammates in Tunisia to boost the team’s preparations for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), reports JOHN VIANNEY NSIMBE.
After dropping nine players last week, Cranes coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has confirmed he will rely on his other squad mainstays such as Moses Oloya and Geoffrey ‘Baba’ Kizito, who ply their trade in the Vietnamese top league.
The pair is set to link up with their teammates in Tunisia next week. Oloya, who was recently released on loan by Russian side, Krasnodar, to join Vietnam outfit Hanoi T&T and his colleague Kizito have been actively involved in league action there. They are expected to have games this weekend, too.
Although, Micho has worked with the two long enough before, and therefore knows their ability, he would have wanted them around to assess their level against the other domestic players competing for slots.
Also, Ethiopia-based midfielder Yasser Mugerwa and goalkeeper Robert Odongkara have games later this week, meaning they, too, will be joining the team in Tunisia. While Portugal-based midfielder Kizito Luwaga is expected next week at the earliest, just in time for Cranes first build-up game on January 4 against Tunisia.
The Cranes, who kick off their Afcon campaign against Ghana on January 17 in Gabon, started residential camp preps in Kampala last week. They will camp in Dubai and Tunisia enroute Gabon.
The team’s camp was boosted by the arrival of South-Africa based goalkeeper Dennis Onyango, midfielder Khalid Aucho and striker Geoffrey Massa over the weekend.
Last week, Micho said he would have loved to have the whole of his squad much earlier. This would have given him more time to work with the players in order to fine-tune them.
But Micho acknowledges the fact that because of the Fifa regulations, the mandated time to release players for major tournaments is at least 10 days. Meanwhile, the national women football team, The Crested Cranes improved by five places in the latest Fifa rankings.
The Crested Cranes, who finished fourth in the regional Cecafa championship last month, are ranked 124 out of 177 countries. They were previously rated at 129.
Uganda’s improving in the latest rankings by the world football governing body is pegged on activities in the Fufa Women Elite League and international engagements over the past 18 months.
In the Cecafa region, Ethiopia is the highest ranked at 102. Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya are rated at 116, 120 and 122 respectively. The United States of America tops the rankings, with Olympic champions Germany in second place.
Newly-crowned African champions Nigeria are ranked 35. Ghana (45), Cameroon (47) and South Africa (51) are other top-ranked African nations.
jovi@obsever.ug