By end of this week, KCCA could have announced a permanent coach after Jackson ‘Nelly’ Magera’s tenure as interim expired at the end of the season.
Magera stood in after the club sacked Abdallah Mubiru in April following a 4-0 defeat at Kitara in the premier league.
Since partying company with Mike Mutebi in 2021, the club have not had a manager last for two seasons with Morley Byekwaso, Jackson Mayanja, Portuguese Sergio Traguil, Magera (twice on interim) and Mubiru all failing to win a trophy and ultimately fired.
At the moment, there is a coaching vacuum that must be filled permanently with reports the club will hold a meeting on Friday to make a decision on the matter.
Now the arduous search for a coach is on, and here at Kawowo Sports, we have picked out five potential candidates linked with the job and examined what each could bring to Lugogo.
Jackson ‘Nelly’ Magera – KCCA interim coach at the moment
Nelly as fondly known in the football circle was part of the coaching staff in the club’s most successful era under Mike Mutebi.
He left when Byekwaso was handed in the permanent job in 2021 and joined Villa where he worked with Petros Koukouras before assuming the head coach position when the Greek was fired.
In 2023, he came within two points of claiming the league title with the Jogoos but failed to beat URA on the final day and returned to Lugogo the following season to work with Sergio Traguil who was sacked later with Magera handling the team for one game before the club named Mubiru as head.
The soft-spoken tactician remained as Mubiru’s first assistant until he was sacked with Magera taking over on interim, a position he still holds to date.
To many, after leading the Kasasiro to the Uganda Cup final which he lost to Vipers, they believe he should be trusted with the head coaching role on a permanent basis claiming he now understands the squad and knows what to iron out to make the forthcoming campaign a success.
Those in his favour also believe keeping him means stability which the club has lacked in the recent past since the departure of Mutebi. His undoing however remains failure to win the Uganda Cup as many questioned his tactics in the final and say he crumbles under pressure after what happened at Villa on the final day of the 2022/23 season.
Brian Ssenyondo – Uganda Cubs coach
A Uganda Cup triumph at Kitara proved not to be enough after he shown exit following an abysmal start to the 2024/25 season.
Ssenyondo however got the national U-17 job and won the Cecafa with the Cubs before guiding the team to the Fifa World Cup due in Qatar in November.
These achievements at such a young age in addition to nurturing talents in the past at Synergy gives the hierarchy at KCCA belief that he can lead the club back to glory days.
The prospect of him managing a club of KCCA’s stature is one he fancies. Whether he would take the job (at the expense of Uganda Cubs), and whether KCCA would offer it to him, remains to be seen, but he will certainly have a point to prove following his departure from Kitara.
Reports that he could also attract players like Jude Ssemugabi to Lugogo could give him a big chance ahead of the rest and the fact that he can still work with Magera.
David Obua – No job
During his brief spell at URA, Obua showed what he is made of with the tax collectors playing beautiful football, a brand associated with KCCA faithful.
Many still believe that if Obua had stayed on at the club, a lot could have changed especially the playing style and perhaps results would be better after the players mastering his game.
Obua is an attraction himself which could improve the already brilliant brand that KCCA is and his football career that saw him play in South Africa and Scotland under very good managers means more knowledge and connections as well.
Those in his favour at Lugogo talk the beautiful football, new ideas and a breath of fresh air away from coaching recycling and the players at Lugogo fit his philosophy.
Meanwhile, Obua had a stint as part of the coaching staff under Mubiru in 2015 although it was never official.
Sam Ssimbwa – Uganda Cranes assistant coach
A fan favourite during his playing days at Lugogo and a big fan of the club.
The 58-year-old is current assistant Uganda Cranes coach but has never shied away from returning to manage at Lugogo at the expense of the national team job.
In case he returns, it will be the fourth time after he managed the club in 2002, 2009 and also in 2015 under Mike Mutebi before he was unceremoniously sacked followed a leaked audio talking match fixing.
His management experience dates back to 1998 and he won his first major trophy as a coach-player at Mbale Heroes in 1999.
Despite so, many at Lugogo don’t fancy him on moral grounds plus his style of play as a coach.
Jackson Mayanja – No Job
He held the job on interim until June 2023 but he failed to cement as permanent leaving the club for Rwanda’s Sunrise FC.
Shockingly, he is part of the KCCA board representing legends but despite so, he is not fancied.
Mia Mia is not a serial winner as well and the club is looking at that as well and it explains why Mubiru was sacked.
He has a point to prove at Lugogo as a coach after his success as a player, a fan favourite during his playing days but has never been the same as a coach.
John ‘Ayala’ Luyinda – Vipers co-coach
Fresh from winning a league and cup double at Kitende, Ayala’s name has been mentioned at Lugogo.
The highly rated tactician is a target for a return to Lugogo where he worked under coaches George Nsimbe, Abdallah Mubiru and Mike Mutebi but KCCA understand it would take more than convincing to leave Vipers where he is contracted until October this year.
However, the uncertainty at Kitende with reports the club could name a foreign coach leaves room for KCCA to try luring him to Lugogo.
His football philosophy is in tandem with what they want at Lugogo and they see him as their future manager even if they don’t get him now.
