By Jinseong Kim
AFC Ann Arbor is excited to announce the signing of Tracy Jones Akiror for the 2022 USL W League campaign. Akiror, captain of the Uganda National Women’s Team, is expected to bring diligence and leadership in the midfield line of AFCAA.
Born and raised in Uganda, Akiror started playing soccer in her home country while continuing her academics at local schools. Akiror then moved overseas in 2019, committing to NJCAA D1 Seminole State College of Florida. During her first season, Akiror appeared in 22 games out of 24, netted 10 goals, and created seven assists. Her performance was enough to pull Seminole State to the championship round, which would end with one win and one loss.
On her decision that led her to the United States, Akiror stated, “It feels great at the same time different I would say since it's a new environment with new faces around.” She also mentioned the weather was the hardest to adjust to, but she was optimistic in facing obstacles and overcoming them to grow to be a better player. “The experience is quite different especially the weather factors compared to my hometown where it's always warm. At first, it did affect me during matches when it got so cold and affected my style of play a little bit. But I would say it’s a great experience because as a soccer player, you never know where you’ll be playing next in your career, so you have to be prepared for any situation in life and be able to adapt to it. However tough it may seem to be, to me this experience is a sign of growth.”
After a short stint in Florida, Akiror transferred to Lindsey Wilson College and decided to test herself on the NAIA stage. The Ugandan only played three matches in her sophomore season, but she would feature 16 out of 18 games the next year, scored one goal, and registered five assists. Lindsey Wilson reached the NAIA Championship and Akiror herself found a place in 2021 NAIA Mid-South All-Conference team.
“AFCAA is a club which is ambitious and ready to achieve its objectives.” Tracy said, on her commitment to the Mighty Oak, “When I read about it and its previous players, it showed me how determined both the management and the players are willing to help the club reach its highest peak. I have a very optimistic feeling joining this club because I know I will do great things here with the help of my teammates and the coaches as well, and I feel like it's an opportunity to showcase my abilities and potential through my talent to the rest of the world.”
As mentioned above, Akiror captains the Crested Cranes. With her home country, she’s competed in and left impressive results in various tournaments, such as the 2018 CECAFA Senior Women’s Championship (finished 2nd), the 2018 COSAFA Women’s Championship (finished 3rd), and the Olympic Qualifiers. She was especially impressive during the COSAFA Women’s Championship, the Uganda Cranes secured the third-place spot by the lone goal from Akiror against Zambia.
Akiror is eager to integrate her leadership experiences into the team. “I would apply my experience in this new team by helping them understand that they are important, worth it and they are the stars that every eye is waiting to see every time that they step onto the pitch. And believing in themselves is a key factor because that's where confidence comes from, and you see yourself doing exceptional things.”
Boyzzz Khumalo, Head Coach of the Women’s team, highly praised Akiror’s experience. “We are looking for players who are going to come in right away and make a difference. She [Akiror] was the captain and the leader. We need people like her, not only for her to be a leader on the field, but also to help the young female players on and off the field. As a leader, those are some of the things that you have to do.” He continued, “Also, just to share her experience about her career, she played not just with the younger players but all the players because you have all the different stories. It is very important to have people like her because they have the experience of playing at the higher level. It’s also opening doors for other African players in the future. We are looking forward to working with her.”
Akiror also looks forward to growing together with AFCAA. “My goal for this season is to help my team win titles and achieve great things in all ways possible and to develop more as a player in every aspect. I want to play football at a higher level, so I am also aiming at becoming a professional soccer player because I want to represent my country in different big clubs all over the world. As we all know, it's every soccer player's dream to go professional as they take on this journey of playing football.”
The club is very excited to give a warm welcome to Tracy and looking forward to a successful campaign with her.