Uganda national team starlet Allan Oyirwoth speaks about the Cranes, early days in MLS

Uganda national team starlet Allan Oyirwoth speaks about the Cranes, early days in MLS

Allan Oyirwoth with the Uganda under-20 national team, the Hippos. Photo: FUFA Media/Ronald Lusulire

Uganda national team starlet Allan Oyirwoth speaks about the Cranes, early days in MLS

Very few players make their senior national team debuts at the age of 16 but Uganda national team and New England Revolution midfielder Allan Oyirwoth can claim this honor. Oyirwoth’s career for club and country is progressing at a rapid rate with his debut arriving on May 7 with the Revolution first team after showing signs of his potential with the Major League Soccer club’s reserve team.

Oyirwoth, currently in Morocco with the Uganda senior national team, played the full match for the Cranes on Friday in their friendly against Cameroon. Pan-Africa Football’s Ronald Lusulire is with the Cranes camp and caught up with Allan for a detailed interview about his time with the Uganda setup as well as his early days in Major League Soccer with the Revolution. Read more below.
New England Revolution 2 midfielder Allan Oyirwoth
Ronald Lusulire, Pan-Africa Football: Allan, good to have you. First of all, how did you feel making your senior debut with the Uganda Cranes?

Allan Oyirwoth: I felt very happy and motivated because that’s not something easy, to make your debut at 16. It’s something very incredible and it shows they have trust in you and your future. After the debut I was very motivated. People started calling me and texting me telling me a lot of things. Yeah, I felt very happy and very motivated.

Allan Oyirwoth with the Uganda national team at the 2024 African Games in Accra, Ghana

RL: How was the reception like from the time you entered camp? Which players did you talk to and how did they receive you?

AO: Everyone was good to me. A lot of people motivated me. I talked to Khalid Aucho, motivated me a lot. Jack Komakech motivated me. Denis Omedi…a lot of people motivated me. I was very, very happy and I felt very welcome and I felt I was not in a new place… I felt just at home.

RL: Fantastic. Allan, how has your performance been at New England Revolution 2? And what did it mean scoring your first goal for Revolution 2 against New York City?

AO: Everything is going well there. The people are good, the environment is OK. Everything is fine…the people are loving, caring, they make sure I am fine every single day so I can perform for them in the field.

I feel like I am at home there because everyone is OK to me. And after scoring my first goal, it was an incredible thing and everyone appreciated and it was a great goal. So they talked about it and I felt very motivated and very fine after the goal.

RL: Of course, from there you went on to make your senior debut for New England. First of all, how did you receive the news when you were told you were going to make your debut? And how was your debut and how did it end?

AO: It was a great day. Very great day and I was very happy after hearing I was going to play for the first team because that’s all I want every single day, every single week. In the first game I played 75 minutes, that was an incredible thing for the coach to trust me for 75 (minutes) in the first team.

It was incredible and we won that game 2-1. I was very happy and I felt I was very useful to the team. I did a lot, I worked hard. I did a lot defending and attacking. So everyone was happy for me and the coaches, everyone was happy and they appreciated everything. That’s why sometimes you see they really appreciate me so much even in the media because they know I am capable of doing a lot of things.

RL: Allan, how hard has it been to adapt to a new life in the USA with the Revolution?

AO: It was very easy for me. It was very, very easy. The first day I got there, it was very easy because everyone was welcoming. Everyone was laughing to me…telling me stories. So it felt like I was just at home. I can say within two days I was used to it.

I found (Alhassan) Yusuf there, a player from Nigeria…very good person. I found a lot of friends, a lot of good players, a lot of motivated players. So they helped me a lot and motivated me. In training, as a young boy growing up they could talk to me and give me the right pathway to being a great footballer. So, I felt it was very simple for me to adapt.

RL: Briefly, tell us when you met Uganda native Ibrahim Sekagya (current head coach of New York Red Bulls 2 and former New York Red Bulls and Uganda national team defender). He is one of those Ugandans who have been in the USA for quite some time.

AO: Ibrahim told me…he first asked me ‘where are you from?’ I told him everything and he asked me ‘how did you get here?’ I told him everything and he told me ‘work very hard because life is not easy…whenever you are here these people know you need to work extra..very hard because they brought you here to help the team. So every single day work hard and bring 100 percent…make sure every day you are locked in and focused on the field and do whatever it takes to (be at) your best.’

RL: What are your targets for the New England Revolution?

AO: My target is to help the team win trophies and to help the team remain in a very good position and always to work hard and make sure that I am always all the time useful to the team.

RL: Allan, MLS is the home of very fine players…the Messi’s of this world, the Suarez’s of this world. Have you been able to meet any players?

AO: I met (Miguel) Almiron, the former Newcastle player. Then I met Emmanuel Latte (Lath), the former Championship (Middlesbrough FC) player. I have met many players.

RL: Of course the last time you played for the senior team of the Cranes. Not a long time ago you were a boy coming from school and making your debut. You return to the team as a senior professional player at a high level. What is your take on this and what do you hope to add on to the Cranes given the fact that you are now a foreign-based player?

AO: It’s something incredible. Right now I came back into the team. It was a long way because it took me a lot of hard work and a lot of mental motivation. So I am in the team now and I am working hard every single day to make sure I am useful to the team and I am doing my best to make sure I am useful to the coaches and useful to the team, helping the team in whatever way. It’s a very good feeling to be back on the national team and to always represent my country it is a very good feeling, its a pleasure.

RL: How would you describe yourself as a player?

AO: I am a player who is learning a lot. In football every single day, as a young player you need to learn. I am not the best, I am not anywhere near the best. There are a lot of talents in Uganda. I cannot even put myself in the top 500 players…top 1 million players. I am learning a lot, I am really working hard and motivating myself every single day to make sure I do my best and make sure I am at a very high level.

RL: I am quoting your coach (at the Revolution) Caleb Porter: “Allan is gifted technically and has a frame and range athletically that profiles well for MLS. With time, to develop in our training environment I am confident he can blossom into an impactful midfielder for our first team.” How did you receive these words and how will they help you, drive you going forward?

AO: That quote is a motivating one. That shows that there is trust in you and they see you as a very good prospect and they see you as someone who will do a lot for the team. So the words motivated me and gave me confidence, kept me pushing very hard every single day in training and games because I know the coaches have trust in me and are motivating me every day and developing me every day.

I think my development is moving on very quick so they are happy with that and I am a very coachable player. They coach me every single day and I pick things very quickly so they are very happy and I like it that’s why I’m moving on every single day.

Full Interview

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