Police FC coach Abdallah Mubiru has stated that Tony Mawajje still has every required skill to be useful at the national team. Mubiru, who doubles as the first team assistant coach at the national level, believes the 33-year-old still has a lot to offer as Uganda looks to overcome South Sudan in a two-legged header this month.
Tony made his debut for the Uganda national team in 2003 and has gone ahead to make over 70 appearances for the side scoring eight goals.
Despite being one of the most important players in the Uganda Cranes team, most especially in the heart of the midfield and being part of the team that represented Uganda in the Afcon 2017 in Gabon, Mawejje found himself out of the national team picture due to injuries and lack of playing time at club level.
However, after returning home to join police FC in the Uganda Premier league working under Abdallah Mubiru, Mawejje has secured himself a call up to the national team provisional squad by Coach McKinstry. This prompted questions over his selection, but his coach at Police has come out to defend the selection of the enigmatic midfielder claiming he still has a lot in his locker that can help Uganda maintain its lead on top of group B. “Mawejje still has a lot to offer to the national team,” Mubiru said.
He went ahead and praised the decision to acquire the services of the experienced defensive midfielder. “Before he even trained with us at Police, I realized we had got a great and experienced player who’s going to add a lot to our team. And since training commenced, I’ve seen an exceptional player who still has the ability irrespective of his age. I know it was some time since he had been selected for national duty, but when I discussed with my boss (Johnathan McKinstry), he wished to see him hence his summoning.”
Mubiru has, however, stated that the decision for Mawejje to make it out of the provisional squad lies in the hands of the Head Coach, ending speculations of his hand Mawejje’s call up to the national team “The rest lies in the hands of the head coach because he’s the main man to take final decisions, but I think he still has the potential to play for the Uganda Cranes,” Mubiru stated.
Uganda Cranes will play South Sudan in a doubleheader on November 12 at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende, and Nyayo National Stadium five days later to achieve a third consecutive AFCON finals appearance.