After a series of disappointments in the CAF Champions League, APR FC new chairman Lt Col Richard Karasira is confident that the club can finally reach their full potential to at least reach the CAF Champions League group stages next season. Karasira took over the military club chairmanship last week from outgoing General Mubarakh Muganga who left the position after three years of service following his recent appointment as new Chief of Defense Staff. Under Gen Muganga, APR has been a dominant force in domestic football, winning three consecutive league titles, but that has not been the case on the continental stage, bowing out of the CAF Champions League in preliminary rounds on consecutive occasions. However, Lt Col. Karasira insists that the team, under his leadership, can prove doubters wrong and deliver the maximum at CAF competitions against all odds. “We want to make APR a respected team again, not just domestically but also on the continent. We are preparing a team that can win against any opponent, that is the goal we set for ourselves...to reach the furthest we can next season, he said. I feel very confident because our leadership wants us to get far, especially because we did it before. We know what it takes to achieve it and our leadership has experience and knowledge enough to build a successful club.” To achieve this, Karasira said that the club is already courting new players, locals and internationals, in a major rebuild that could see some players shown the exit door. Is it the end of the ‘only home grown players’ policy? Despite dominating domestic football, APR have not performed well in CAF club competitions, particularly since the club adopted ‘home players only’ policy over a decade back. Times Sport understands that APR has been holding talks with a number of various foreign players in an attempt to add some fresh blood in the squad ahead of next season as the club looks to extend its domestic dominance to the continental scene. However, asked about the club's new player recruitment policy, Karasira refused to rule out a possible move to end the ‘only homegrown players’ policy in which many football pundits, and fans at large, insist that the club has failed when it comes to performance.
