Micheal Azira

Micheal Azira (born August 22, 1987) is a Ugandan-American professional soccer player who plays for New Mexico United and the Uganda national team.

Micheal Azira
Personal information
Full name Micheal Azira
Date of birth (1987-08-22) August 22, 1987
Place of birth Kampala, Uganda
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 New Mexico United
Number 23
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders
2011 Mobile Rams
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Mississippi Brilla 28 (5)
2012–2013 Charleston Battery 40 (5)
2014–2015 Seattle Sounders FC 25 (0)
2015 → Seattle Sounders FC 2 (loan) 1 (0)
2016–2018 Colorado Rapids 66 (0)
2018 → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 1 (0)
2018–2019 Montreal Impact 29 (1)
2019–2020 Chicago Fire 10 (0)
2021– New Mexico United 28 (1)
National team‡
2016–2021 Uganda 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:57, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

Professional career

Azira signed with Charleston Battery of USL Pro in 2012.[1] He scored the winning goal for Charleston against Wilmington Hammerheads in the 2012 USL Pro Championship match.[2] Azira scored six more goals for the Battery in 2013.

Azira was transferred to Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer on March 6, 2014.[3][4] He made his MLS debut as a substitute against Montreal on March 23, 2014.[5]

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.[6]

Azira was traded by the Rapids on August 8, 2018 to Montreal Impact for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.[7]

Azira was traded again in August 2019, this time to the Chicago Fire.[8] His contract with the club expired at the end of the 2020 season.[9]

On 1 February 2021, Azira signed with USL Championship side New Mexico United.[10]

International career

Azira plays for his birth nation of Uganda. Coach Milutin Sredojević selected Azira for the final 23-man roster for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.[11]

Coaching career

Azira served as head coach for the Daniel Island Soccer Academy U-16 and U-18 Boyz teams in Charleston, South Carolina. He also served as assistant coach at UMS-Wright in Mobile, Alabama for two seasons, helping lead them to a state title in 2011.[12]

Personal life

Azira previously held a U.S. green card, which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[13]

On October 9, 2021, Azira was naturalized as an American citizen in Albuquerque.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played November 8, 2021[14]
Club Season League Domestic Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Mississippi Brilla 2010 USL PDL 10[15] 0 — 0 0 — 10 0
2011 15[16] 5 — 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 — 17 5
Total 25 5 — 2 0 — 27 5
Charleston Battery 2012 USL Pro 14 0 0 0 3[lower-alpha 2] 1 — 17 1
2013 26 5 2[lower-alpha 3] 0 2[lower-alpha 2] 2 — 30 7
Total 40 5 2 0 5 3 — 47 8
Seattle Sounders U-23 2013 USL PDL 1 1 0 0 — — 1 1
Seattle Sounders 2014 MLS 14 0 5[lower-alpha 3] 0 4[lower-alpha 4] 0 — 23 0
2015 10 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 2[lower-alpha 4] 0 4[lower-alpha 5] 0 17 0
Total 24 0 6 0 6 0 4 0 40 0
Seattle Sounders U-23 (loan) 2014 USL PDL 6 0 — — — 6 0
Tacoma Defiance (loan) 2015 USL 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 4 0
Colorado Rapids 2016 MLS 30 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 4[lower-alpha 4] 0 — 35 0
2017 30 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 1 — — 31 1
2018 5 0 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 — 1[lower-alpha 5] 0 7 0
Total 65 0 3 1 4 0 1 0 73 1
Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) 2018 USL 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Montreal Impact 2018 MLS 10 1 0 0 — — 10 1
2019 19 0 2[lower-alpha 6] 0 — — 21 0
Total 29 1 2 0 — — 31 1
Chicago Fire 2019 MLS 4 0 0 0 — 0 0 4 0
2020 6 0 — 0 0 — 6 0
Total 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
New Mexico United 2021 USL Championship 28 1 — — — 28 1
Career total 233 13 13 1 17 3 5 0 258 17
  1. Appearance(s) in USL PDL playoffs
  2. Appearance(s) and goal in USL Pro playoffs
  3. Appearance(s) in US Open Cup
  4. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup playoffs
  5. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  6. Appearance(s) in Canadian Championship

International
As of matches played on 16 July 2019[17]
Uganda national team
YearAppsGoals
201610
201740
201800
201950
Total100

Honours

Charleston Battery

  • USL Pro Championship: 2012
Seattle Sounders

References
  1. "Charleston Battery transfers Mike Azira to Seattle Sounders FC". wlox.com. Raycom Media. March 6, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  2. Andrew Miller (September 8, 2012). "Charleston Battery captures fourth USL title with 1-0 win over Wilmington". Post and Courier. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. "Charleston Battery transfers Mike Azira to Seattle Sounders FC". Charleston Battery. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  4. Dave Clark (March 6, 2014). "Sounders Sign Ugandan International Micheal Azira". Sounder at Heart.
  5. "Montreal Impact vs Seattle Sounders FC 03-23-2014 – Rosters". MLSsoccer.com. March 23, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  6. "Former Sounders FC midfielder Micheal Azira lands with Colorado Rapids". Seattle Sounders FC.
  7. "Colorado Rapids trade Micheal Azira to Montreal Impact, receive 2020 draft pick". Colorado Rapids. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  8. "Chicago Fire pick up Micheal Azira in trade with Montreal Impact". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. August 7, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  9. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/11/05/mls-contract-options-whos-staying-and-whos-going-entering-2021-offseason
  10. "New Mexico Adds Veteran Midfielder Micheal Azira". USL Championship. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  11. "Uganda name Africa Nations cup squad". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  12. "Micheal Azira finds his niche on Sounders with good humor, positive attitude". The Seattle Times. July 26, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  13. "Impact acquires Uganda international midfielder Micheal Azira". impactmontreal.com. Montreal Impact. August 8, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  14. "Uganda - M. Azira - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  15. "Mississippi Brilla FC". July 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  16. "2011 Roster & Stats - Brilla Soccer Ministries". January 28, 2012. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  17. Micheal Azira at National-Football-Teams.com
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