David Otti was one of Uganda's most respected coaches and one of the most decorated persons in Ugandan football. He was born in

Gulu Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District. The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...

, northern

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and he died at the age of 71 on 3 March 2011 at Case MedCare Hospital in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

. Preliminary medical reports showed he succumbed to

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...

before his body was transferred to Mulago National Referral Hospital for a conclusive post-mortem. This was still on-going by press time. He was also battling with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

, while he was still coach of

Express FC Express Football Club, abbreviated as Express, is a Ugandan football club from Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda. The club play their home games at the Muteesa II Wankulukuku Stadium. History Express FC is popularly referred to by ...

, a Ugandan football club. Otti's leg was amputated last May following a near four-year battle against diabetes. During his time, he coached all the top three Ugandan clubs - Express, KCC and SC Villa. He spread his wings across the region to work at Kenyan sides Volcano United and

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly also known as ''K'Ogalo'' (), is a football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 19 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. They are the o ...

(1981–83), Somalia's Mogadishu Municipal Council (1987–1990) and Rwanda's outfit APR (1995–96) plus serving as National Council of Sports (NCS) general secretary. It is at

where Otti is revered most having brought the club their first league title in almost two decades back in 1993. He also won three

Ugandan Cup The Uganda Cup is Uganda's main national cup competition in football. This annual competition is open for member clubs of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations. The Uganda Cup is the second most prestigious competition in Uganda footba ...

titles while there

Otti is best remembered as one of the most successful coaches in Ugandan football and led all giant clubs in Ugandan Football that include Express,

SC Villa Sports Club Villa is an association football club based in Uganda. Overview SC Villa had humble beginnings in 1975, playing under the name Nakivubo Boys. The club was renamed Nakivubo Villa in 1981. SC Villa won promotion to the top flight of ...

and KCC FC to multiple titles, and was successful both with attacking and defensive tactics. His career began in the 1960s, playing for Bitumastic and the Uganda Cranes (the national team of Uganda), including the

1968 African Cup of Nations The 1968 African Cup of Nations was the sixth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Ethiopia. The field expanded to eight teams, split into two groups of four; the top two teams in each gr ...

. He began his coaching career in 1973. He also coached the Uganda Cranes, Uganda's national team which qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo (1974) and Ethiopia (1976). He also briefly had short coaching spells in Somalia and Rwanda.

Personal life

David Otti was married to Faith, and had five children, Richard Otti, Juddy Akello Olunga, Leonard Odong, David Ochan, and Jackie Otti. He was buried in Pece.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otti, David 20th-century births 2011 deaths People from Gulu District Ugandan football managers Uganda national football team managers Ugandan footballers Uganda international footballers 1962 African Cup of Nations players 1968 African Cup of Nations players 1976 African Cup of Nations managers Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Kenya Expatriate football managers in Kenya Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Rwanda Expatriate football managers in Rwanda Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Somalia Expatriate football managers in Somalia Association footballers not categorized by position