Former AFC Leopards head coach wins Uganda Premier League with Vipers

Former AFC Leopards head coach Ivan Minnaert has guided Vipers SC to the 2025/26 Uganda Premier League title, capping off an impressive debut season in charge of the Ugandan giants.

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The Belgian tactician sealed the league crown on Tuesday, 19 May, after Vipers produced a commanding 3-0 victory over Maroons FC to successfully defend their title and secure the club’s eighth league championship.

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Minnaert, who previously handled AFC Leopards in the Kenyan top flight, was appointed Vipers head coach on July 18, 2025, succeeding John Luyinda and Fred Muhumuza, who had been serving in an interim capacity.

The experienced 59-year-old manager has since masterminded a remarkable campaign with the Venoms squad as they mounted a successful title charge against close challengers KCCA FC.

Against Maroons, Vipers delivered a performance worthy of champions. Goals from Yunus Sentamu and Usama Arafat in the first half handed the hosts a comfortable advantage before Karim Watambala added the third after the break to wrap the win in style.

The victory saw Vipers open an unassailable five-point lead at the summit with one match left to play, officially confirming them as league champions before the final round of fixtures.

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In his maiden season at the helm, Minnaert has so far overseen 29 league matches, registering 18 wins, the joint highest tally in the division alongside KCCA FC, while also recording 10 draws and suffering just a single defeat throughout the campaign.

His side’s consistency proved decisive in the title race as Vipers maintained their grip at the top during the crucial closing stages of the season.

Vipers will conclude their title-winning campaign with a home fixture against seven-time Ugandan champions Express FC as they seek to finish the season on a high.

Reacting after clinching the title, Minnaert took to his official Facebook page to celebrate the achievement while also aiming a subtle dig at critics who doubted his credentials.

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“They talked, we worked. They doubted, we delivered. 2025/26 Uganda Premier League Champions. Now you know why winners fail, but losers hide. Venoms mentality.”

The title triumph further strengthens Minnaert’s reputation as one of the experienced foreign tacticians to have left a mark on East African football, having now added a Ugandan league crown to his managerial résumé after previous coaching stints across the African continent, having won the 2024/25 Liberian First Division title with FC Fassell and the 2020/21 Libyan top-flight title with Al-Ittihad Tripoli.