KAMPALA, UGANDA | Xinhua | Uganda Premier League champion Vipers Sports Club has appointed Belgium’s Ivan Minnaert as its new head coach, the club announced on Friday.
The 58-year-old experienced coach was unveiled by the club at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Kitende, south of the capital Kampala.
“I am very happy to join Vipers Sports Club, and we shall work hard as a team to make sure we achieve the targets locally and at the international stage,” Minnaert told Xinhua.
Minnaert joins the reigning Ugandan champions from Fassell FC, whom he guided to the 2024/25 Liberian Premier League title.
Vipers owner Lawrence Mulindwa had been vocal about his desire to bring in an overseas coach who can take the club to a higher level of professionalism and performance.
The club has said Minnaert will be assisted by local coaches John Luyinda and Fred Muhumuza, who jointly led the team to a league and cup double in the 2024/25 season.
Minnaert, who holds a UEFA Pro coaching License, has had a varied coaching career. After cutting his teeth with clubs in Spain’s lower leagues, the Belgian has gone on to coach in Libya, Mali, Kenya, Guinea, Rwanda and South Africa.
Minnaert is expected to retain the Uganda Premier League and Uganda Cup titles in the new season, and also steer Vipers to the latter stages of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League. ■
