Micheal Azira (born 22 August 1987) is a Ugandan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. History Former teams The state of New Mexic ...

and the Uganda national team.

Professional career

Azira signed with

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

in 2012. He scored the winning goal for Charleston against

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

in the 2012 USL Pro Championship match. Azira scored six more goals for the Battery in 2013. Azira was transferred to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

on 6 March 2014. He made his MLS debut as a substitute against Montréal on 23 March. Seattle did not renew Azira's contract following the 2015 season. Azira entered the MLS Waiver Draft in December 2015 and was selected by

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

. Azira was traded by the Rapids on 8 August 2018 to Montreal Impact for a fourth-round draft pick in the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 ...

. Azira was traded again in August 2019, this time to the Chicago Fire. His contract with the club expired at the end of the 2020 season. On 1 February 2021, Azira signed with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side

International career

Azira plays for his birth nation of

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 ...

. Coach

Milutin Sredojević Milutin Sredojević ( sr-Cyrl, Милутин Средојевић; born 1 September 1969), simply known as Micho, is a Serbian Association football, football manager who currently serves as the head coach of the Uganda national football team. He ...

selected Azira for the final 23-man roster for

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

Coaching career

Azira served as head coach for the Daniel Island Soccer Academy U-16 and U-18 Boyz teams in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. He also served as assistant coach at UMS-Wright in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

for two seasons, helping lead them to a state title in 2011.

Personal life

Azira previously held a U.S. green card, which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. On 9 October 2021, Azira was naturalized as an American citizen in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Charleston Battery * USL Pro Championship: 2012 ;Seattle Sounders * U.S Open Cup: 2014 *

Supporters Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

: 2014

References

External links

*
USL Pro profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azira, Micheal 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Kampala Association football midfielders Ugandan footballers Ugandan expatriate footballers Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders men's soccer players Mississippi Brilla players Charleston Battery players Seattle Sounders FC players Tacoma Defiance players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players CF Montréal players Chicago Fire FC players New Mexico United players Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL League Two players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Uganda international footballers 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in the United States