| Micheal Azira | |
| Fullname: | Micheal Azira |
| Birth Date: | 22 August 1987 |
| Birth Place: | Kampala, Uganda |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Collegeyears1: | 2008–2010 |
| College1: | Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders |
| Collegeyears2: | 2011 |
| College2: | Mobile Rams |
| Years1: | 2010–2011 |
| Clubs1: | Mississippi Brilla |
| Caps1: | 28 |
| Goals1: | 5 |
| Years2: | 2012–2013 |
| Clubs2: | Charleston Battery |
| Caps2: | 40 |
| Goals2: | 5 |
| Years3: | 2014–2015 |
| Clubs3: | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Caps3: | 25 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2015 |
| Clubs4: | → Seattle Sounders FC 2 (loan) |
| Caps4: | 1 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs5: | Colorado Rapids |
| Caps5: | 66 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2018 |
| Clubs6: | → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) |
| Caps6: | 1 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs7: | Montreal Impact |
| Caps7: | 29 |
| Goals7: | 1 |
| Years8: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs8: | Chicago Fire |
| Caps8: | 10 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs9: | New Mexico United |
| Caps9: | 45 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2016–2021 |
| Nationalteam1: | Uganda |
| Nationalcaps1: | 10 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 21 October 2022 |
| Ntupdate: | 23 April 2022 |
Micheal Azira (born 22 August 1987) is a Ugandan professional footballer.
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 6 March 2014.[3] [4] He made his MLS debut as a substitute against Montréal on 23 March.[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 8 August 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]
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]
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]
Azira previously held a U.S. green card, which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[13]
On 9 October 2021, Azira was naturalized as an American citizen in Albuquerque.[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[16] | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2011 | 15[17] | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 17 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 25 | 5 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 5 | |||||
| Charleston Battery | 2012 | USL Pro | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2013 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 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 FC | 2014 | MLS | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 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 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||||
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 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 | 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 | ||||
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 235 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 262 | 17 | |||
| Uganda national team | |||
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Charleston Battery