Uganda head coach, Paul Put has voiced strong dissatisfaction with FIFA’s decision to push back the release date for players ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The global body extended the window for clubs to release their players from 8 December to 15 December, a move Put believes has severely disrupted preparations for the tournament.
Put explained that national team coaches had long planned for a two week preparation period, only to be informed a few days ago that players based abroad would only be available on 16 or 17 December.
He said this adjustment has forced Uganda to reassess its training programme and friendly matches.
“First of all I think all the coaches aren’t happy with the decision of FIFA because normally we already said two weeks before the start of the tournament you can have your players to prepare,” Put said.
“But suddenly a few days ago we received a message from FIFA that we can only have the players that play abroad on the 16th or 17th of December, which isn’t a good scenario because we had been calculating and hoping to get the players on the 8th all together. Now we are going to be with half of the team to prepare until the 16th or 17th.”
Put added that the revised schedule affects Uganda’s two friendly matches, initially designed to test tactical adjustments and fine tune the team.
“In that period we have two friendly games which would have given me the opportunity to change some things on the team, but now I can’t because I won’t have all the players for the second game.
“We are going to play two friendly games against Moroccan club FAR Rabat on the 13th and Gabon on the 16th. This type of change makes good preparation difficult. We have only 15 players, which is not that much, but we have to deal with it.”
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Put emphasized that limited numbers restrict the team to mostly technical and tactical drills rather than full preparation for competitive fixtures.
“All the plans you have been making for months how to prepare the team mentally, prepare yourself mentally, brief the players, tell them what they are going to do and what we have to improve that’s very far away from what we can do now. We have to see how we can manage and prepare ourselves in the best way.”
FIFA’s extension has sparked criticism across the continent
French outlet L’Équipe reported that several African coaches and federations viewed the change as a sign of disrespect toward African football.
One notable critic was Angola head coach Patrice Beaumelle, who said, “FIFA only needs Africa during elections, but it doesn’t value our competitions like AFCON or give them the recognition they deserve.”
The decision has already forced adjustments in several national team schedules.
Nigeria, for instance, has moved its friendly match from 14 December to 16 December, with several other countries also modifying their programmes to cope with the late release of players.
