Cranes coach Micho Sredojevic believes the country has abundant young talent but lacks good structures to tap it.
Micho, who traveled to Masaka – a two hour drive from the Ugandan capital – a day after Cranes dispatched Tanzania in the race to 2014 Africa Nations Championship (Chan), watched Kampala Boys defeat Buganda on penalties to win the U-17 Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) final on Sunday.
“These youngsters have been impressive and this is the future of Ugandan football,” said Micho, the 43-year-old Serbian.
“The available structures need to get better in order to accommodate all these budding stars for the bigger stage to come.
“They (youngsters) have the opportunities to join the U-17, U-20 and eventually senior side but they need to prove themselves first.”
Kampala Boys were awarded with a Shs5m cash prize, girls’ champions – Western – took Shs3m for their 3-2 penalty win over Kampala in front of a handful of fans.
A total 40 players per gender were selected to make the squads from which 16 will be picked to represent Uganda at the Airtel Africa Championships due September in Nigeria.