Uganda Premier League defending champions Vipers Sports Club are once again in the spotlight after parting ways with their head coach.
Belgian tactician Ivan Jacky Minnaert was shown the exit after less than a year, having arrived at Kitende from from Liberian top-flight side FC Fassell in July 2025.
The club confirmed they had “mutually parted ways with head coach, Ivan Minnaert, after the expiry of his contract.”
“The club appreciates Minnaert’s dedicated service and professionalism to Vipers SC and wishes him the best in his career path.”
The Kitende-based club dismissed the Belgian following a season that ended with mixed fortunes, despite securing their eighth league title. The team also fell short in the Uganda Cup, where they were eliminated by Kitara FC, who went on to lift the trophy.
The latest decision continues a pattern of frequent managerial changes at the club, which has seen a high coaching turnover in recent years.
In the last five years alone, Vipers SC has sacked six head coaches, including Edward Golola in 2020, Beto Bianchi in March 2023, Alex Isabirye in July 2023, Leonardo Neiva in December 2023, Livingstone Mbabazi in 2024, and Nikola Kavazovic. Minnaert now becomes the seventh coach to be dismissed within the same period.
The club’s coaching instability has also led to legal and financial consequences. In February 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered Vipers SC to compensate former coach Roberto Bianchi with USD 84,000 (approximately shs321 million) for wrongful termination of his contract.
Bianchi, who was dismissed in March 2023 after only two months in charge and seven matches, challenged the decision at CAS. The tribunal ruled that Vipers SC had breached a fixed-term contract by terminating it prematurely, and therefore owed the coach compensation.
The ruling reinforced concerns over contract management at the club, as Vipers continues to grapple with frequent changes in technical leadership despite on-field success.
