New York Red Bulls II midfielder Steven Sserwadda made his Ugandan National Team debut over the past week, appearing in both matches at the 2022 Navruz Cup in Uzbekistan.
Sserwadda is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Red Bulls II Assistant Coach Ibrahim Sekagya, who played for the Ugandan National Team for several years.
“With Steven I think that it’s a big jump for him to go to the national team,” Sekagya said. “Also seeing him here with our team, I think he deserves to be in that environment so that he can continue his development. I think that was good for him.”
The New York midfielder came on as a second half substitute in the team’s first match against Tajikistan on March 25. He then made his first start with the senior team on March 29, playing 65 minutes against Uzbekistan.
“To see him now, on my pathway, I think that’s a good thing for him,” Sekagya said. “Now he just has to maintain it and develop from here. It’s good for the national team coach to see him and to see him more.”
Sserwadda will look to build off the experience with Uganda over the past week and carry it into his second season with New York, where he started the first two matches and logged 163 minutes.
“Being on the national team is another environment along with being with a club,” Sekagya said. “Being able to play two national teams, I think the experience he got there and the more minutes he gets with the national team, I think it will transfer to his development here also with the second team.”
Upcoming competitions for Uganda include the African Cup of Nations and African Nations Championship, and Sserwadda will look to potentially be a part of the squads going to those events.
