When Uganda welcomes Congo Brazzaville to Mandela National Stadium, Namboole on Monday, September 9, head coach Paul Joseph Put will be meeting his former paymasters.
The Cranes and Red Devils will be playing in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Group K.
Put was Brazzaville’s head coach for two years, from 2021 to 2023, before he was appointed to succeed Milutin Micho Sredojevic in Uganda.
He will have a point to prove to the Congolese football hierarchy given the nature of his departure last year.
The 68-year-old fell out with a section of his bosses regarding administrative issues, especially in the national team set-up.
His football tactics were criticized and his two-year contract was not renewed upon expiry.
The Belgian has vast experience in African football. Besides Uganda and Congo, he has managed Guinea, Kenya, Gamba, and Burkina Faso previously.
He reached the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso, but the Stallions lost 1-0 to Nigeria.
He is targeting returning the Cranes to AFCON, a stage where they last performed in 2019 in Egypt, and also remains optimistic about qualifying for the maiden World Cup.
As his charges drew 2-2 with Bafana Bafana in South Africa on Friday, his former side hosted and defeated South Sudan 1-0 on Thursday.
