{"id":8157,"date":"2021-04-12T16:25:07","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T16:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=8157"},"modified":"2021-04-12T15:59:21","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T15:59:21","slug":"fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa","title":{"rendered":"Fighter, warrior: Football pays homage to Wasswa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Hassan Mawanda Wasswa\u2019s name has been associated with unrelenting resilience, willpower too strong to give up or in, and an attractive arrogance to disprove doubters.And as the sun surrendered to the night last Friday, the son of KCCA legend, Biruma called time on his 13 years of dedicated service to Uganda Cranes; the tributes that followed were testament.<\/p>\n

From his former coaches, fellow players, to administrators, all spoke in reverence of the man whose efforts on the pitch were never questioned.It has been argued that Ugandan legend Ibrahim Sekagya is the reason Wasswa never became a mainstay at the heart of Cranes defence.Wasswa, 33, started out as a solid defender, but Sekagya was too good for the then youngster to claim his place.This saw Wasswa\u2019s coaches reward his versatility with a midfield role. That way, both got to play together, cry together, and celebrate together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honour to work with you as a teammate who was committed to success,\u201d Sekagya posted on Wasswa\u2019s retirement statement on Facebook.\u201cThank you for your 13 years of committed service. You deserve nothing, but the best!\u201d Cranes captain Denis Onyango said he considered Wasswa not only as a valuable asset to the national team but as an enjoyable presence as well.\u201cWhile you\u2019ll be missed by all of us, you certainly deserve to bow out with honour,\u201d Onyango posted on his social media pages. \u201cYour hard work and diligence have greatly benefited the Cranes over the 13 years, and I hope that the remaining and upcoming youngsters in the National Team setup will strive to follow your stellar example.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his decade-plus years of national service, Wasswa has worked with a number of coaches \u2013 L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Csaba, Bobby Williamson, Micho Sredojevic, Sebastien Desabre and Johnny McKinstry, each impacting him in different ways.Sredojevic and Wasswa went great heights together as they helped Uganda end a nearly four-decade absence from the Nations Cup finals with Gabon 2017 appearance.<\/p>\n

Special commando<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201c(I\u2019m) wholeheartedly honoured, privileged and blessed to coach a Ugandan special commando, football forces soldier, Hassan Wasswa, aka Big Hass,\u201d tweeted Micho, now Zambia coach.\u201cWhile you are hanging your boots, as a practical witness, I respectfully appreciate each moment of your sacrifice for that holy jersey. Webale nyo Ssebo,\u201d he signed off in Luganda, a local dialect.<\/p>\n

Sebastien Desabre is the other coach Wasswa made the next Afcon finals appearance with, this at Egypt 2019, which was also to be his final one.\u201cAn example in everything,\u201d Desabre, who guided Uganda to the last 16 of the expanded 24-team Afcon, tweeted on Wasswa.\u201cLoyal, educated, responsible and hardworking – skills that can be used at another level in Ugandan football. Good luck captain Hassan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Great example<\/b><\/p>\n

Wasswa\u2019s last game for the Cranes was a friendly against Ethiopia in November 2019. It was also his first and last time to play for current Cranes coach, McKinstry, although he was an unused substitute for the Afcon 2021 home qualifier against Malawi.\u201cA career of great quality, dedication and service to the Uganda Cranes comes to an end,\u201d said McKinstry.\u201cHassan Wasswa has been and will continue to remain a great example to future generations of what it takes to excel in the red shirt of Uganda. Good luck Hassan in the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other former teammates like forward Emmanuel Okwi said \u201cit was always an honour to share the pitch\u201d with Wasswa.\u201cYou were a true soldier and fighter,\u201d added Okwi, \u201cyour spirit was always unmatched. You gave everything once you got on the pitch. Thanks for everything, brother!\u201dWasswa\u2019s fan and pundit Aldrine Nsubuga said the player\u2019s \u201cfootball arrogance bordered on impudence. He walked, played and talked on the pitch like he was the greatest thing to have happened in the history of sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Befitting farewell<\/b><\/p>\n

Perhaps Moses Magogo had to save the best for last, the Fufa president wrapping up his tribute by declaring a testimonial for the man.\u201cThirteen years with 75 caps at the senior level has earned Hassan Wasswa a testimonial match organised by Fufa at an appropriate time,\u201d declared Magogo.\u201cHe will determine the line-ups and what the collections of the match will be used in accordance to his decision.\u201dMagogo added: \u201cWhenever he (Wasswa) stepped on the pitch for training or friendly or competitive match, he is one of the few players who always gave 200 percent. He really hated to lose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I am to choose, Afcon 2017 finals in Gabon, Hassan was at the peak of his trade. For me, it was great performance and great tournament for him.\u201dA former student from Makerere University Business School (Mubs), Wasswa wants to play on club football for one or two more seasons before retiring fully into administration.<\/p>\n

HONOURS<\/b><\/p>\n

Name: Hassan Wasswa MawandaAge: 33Caps: 75Played locally for KCCA 2006-2007 & 2012-2013, and SC Villa 2014-152007-08: Ethiopian Premier League title with St George2009-10: TFF First League title with Karab\u00fckspor (Turkey)<\/p>\n

PRO Clubs2007-2008: Saint George (Ethiopia)2008-2009: Cape Town (S. Africa)2009-2010: Karab\u00fckspor* 2010-2011: Altay* 2011-2012: Kayseri* (*all in Turkey)2013-2014: \u0110\u1ed3ng Nai (Vietnam)2015-2016: Al-Shorta (Iraq)2016-2017: Al-Nejmeh (Lebanon)2017-2018: El Gaish (Egypt)2019: Jeddah SaudiArabiaamwanguhya@ug.nationmedia.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Hassan Mawanda Wasswa\u2019s name has been associated with unrelenting resilience, willpower too strong to give up or in, and an attractive arrogance to disprove doubters.And as the sun surrendered to the night last Friday, the son of KCCA legend, Biruma called time on his 13 years of dedicated service to Uganda Cranes; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":8156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-8157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nFighter, warrior: Football pays homage to Wasswa - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hassan Mawanda Wasswa\u2019s name has been associated with unrelenting resilience, willpower too strong to give up or in, and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fighter, warrior: Football pays homage to Wasswa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hassan Mawanda Wasswa\u2019s name has been associated with unrelenting resilience, willpower too strong to give up or in, and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-12T16:25:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/04\/img-60746e3b011a9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Fighter, warrior: Football pays homage to Wasswa\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-12T16:25:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\"},\"wordCount\":875,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/04\/img-60746e3b011a9.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/fighter-warrior-football-pays-homage-to-wasswa\",\"name\":\"Fighter, warrior: Football pays homage to Wasswa - 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