Ayub Khalifa to handle Uganda U17 women’s team at Cosafa tournament

Ayub Khalifa has been appointed the head coach of the Uganda women's U17 team which will participate in the Cosafa U17 Championship.

The appointment was announced by Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) president Eng. Moses Magogo during the Fufa Women Football Symposium at Kabira Country Club in Kampala on Wednesday.

Namuyanja Hadijah will serve as the assistant head coach while Olive Mbekeka will be the team trainer. Moses Oloya was named as the goalkeeping coach.

Nankumba Stellah, who works at Ntinda United, was named the medical officer, Joan Namusisi-Team the team coordinator and Alex Kasirye the media officer.

Khalifa has achieved enormous success in Uganda and is a four-time Fufa Women's Elite League winner, showcasing his ability to create successful teams and bring home trophy success.

Khalifa has also had recent success, winning the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Championship with Kawempe Muslim Secondary School, which will have given him a rich insight into what talent is available in the U17 age-group.

The tournament is composed of countries which make up the Confederation of South African Football Associations (Cosafa) and will run from September 20 to 29 in Mauritius.

Being the guest team, Uganda will compete with other seven teams - Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia, Madagascar, Comoros, Botswana and Seychelles, which are placed in two different groups.

According to the draws held on Wednesday in Mauritius, Uganda are in Group A with the hosts Mauritius, Zambia, and Comoros while Group B also has two island nations as Seychelles and Madagascar square-off against South Africa and Botswana.

This is the first Uganda U17 women's national team to be assembled in the history of football in the country.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, after which the competition will switch to a knockout format.