Mike Azira: Another Uganda Cranes Player Retires

Mike Azira (right) in action against Egypt. (Getty Images)


Midfielder Mike Azira has retired from international football, its official.

Azira joins Denis Onyango and Hassan Wasswa as the latest Cranes players who have retired from international football recently.

“Please accept this letter as a notification that I wish to retire from playing for the national football team effective April 14 2021,” reads a letter from Azira to FUFA boss Moses Magogo.

“Playing for the National team has been an honour and I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to represent my country and my family.”

Azira noted that he has enjoyed working with FUFA and playing for the Cranes.

He has represented Uganda at two Africa Cup of Nations (2017 and 2019) which he has described as his best moments with the team.

He added: “These memories will always stay with me and they will be cherished always. I take this moment to thank all the coaches that I have worked with over the years and I also thank our fans who always supported us at home and on the road.”

“I wish you all the best and I will continue to support the Cranes in anyway possible.”

Azira, who features for New Mexico, had his Cranes debut on November 12 2016 when he came on at the hour mark for Tonny Mawejje against Congo in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in Namboole.

What Next For Uganda Cranes?

It is expected that more senior players are also set to hang their boots as well including Khalid Aucho and Emmanuel Okwi.

This is the latest in the ongoing controversy that was sparked by uncalled for comments from FUFA boss Moses Magogo who blamed CHAN players for playing ‘shitty football’.

There time on the National team was nearer to the end, but this was not the ending they had envisioned.

Azira has been a strong pillar in the Cranes squad both on the pitch and in the dressing room.

He was one of the team’s best players at 2019 AFCON as his passing skills and industriousness lifted Cranes to the knockout.

The Cranes will now shift focus to a long rebuilding process as the World Cup Qualifiers draw nearer.


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