Ibrahim Sekagya (born 19 December 1980) is a Ugandan former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He is currently an assistant coach for the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Club career

Born in Kawempe

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, as a boy, Sekagya started out his career playing on a bare surfaced pitch at Kawempe commonly known as 'kataka' before joining State House and later local giants Kampala City Council FC (KCC FC) Sekagya started his senior career with Kampala City Council in 1992, before moving to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in 1998 to try to make a career in football. His first Argentine club was

Atlético de Rafaela Asociación Mutual Social y Deportiva Atlético de Rafaela, known simply as Atlético de Rafaela, is an Argentine sports club based in the city of Rafaela, in Santa Fe Province. The club is mostly known for its professional football team, that com ...

in the

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

. In 2002, he moved to

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its assoc ...

in the

Primera B Metropolitana Primera B Metropolitana is one of two professional leagues that form the third level of the Argentine football league system. The division is made up of 17 clubs mainly from the city of Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area, Greater Buenos Aires ...

, subsequently helping the team to win the league and secure promotion to the Primera B Nacional. In 2005, he was signed by

Arsenal de Sarandí Arsenal Fútbol Club (), usually referred as Arsenal de Sarandí , or simply Arsenal, is an Argentine sports club from the Sarandí district of Avellaneda Partido, Greater Buenos Aires. The football team currently plays in Primera Nacional, t ...

of the Argentine Primera División, where he spent two seasons. In June 2007, Sekagya signed a three-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg, the then current champions of the

Austrian Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

. He made his Bundesliga debut on 11 July 2007 in Salzburg's 4–1 win against

SC Rheindorf Altach Sportclub Rheindorf Altach, also known as Rheindorf Altach, SCR Altach or simply SCRA, is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club based in Altach, Vorarlberg. It plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club is currently ...

and scored his first league goal on 22 July 2007 to secure Salzburg a 2–2 away draw at

FK Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German language in Europe, German-speaking countries, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vi ...

. He quickly established himself as a regular with the club and finished his first season with 34 Bundesliga appearances to his name, scoring three goals in the league. In his six seasons at the club Sekagya appeared in 165 league matches and scored 6 goals. During this time he helped the club capture three

Austrian Football Bundesliga The Bundesliga ( , "Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Austria and the highest level of the Austrian football league system. The competition decides the A ...

titles and one

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for a record 27th time. Wo ...

. On 11 July 2013, Sekagya joined

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

side

on a free transfer, following his departure from sister club Red Bull Salzburg. On 4 August 2013 Sekagya made his debut for New York starting as a defensive midfielder in a 3–2 victory over

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. On 27 October 2013, Sekagya scored the go ahead goal in the last game of the season against the Chicago Fire at Red Bull Arena to help his team to a 5–2 victory and become

champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

of the regular season. It was the club's first major trophy in their 17-year history. However, Sekagya's giveaway led to an equalizer in Houston's 2–1 victory that knocked New York out of the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs. During the 2014 season Sekagya became a regular starter for New York helping the club reach the MLS Cup playoffs. Sekagya retired from professional football in early 2015.

International career

Sekagya also played for the Ugandan national football team where he was the team's captain. He made 8 appearances and scored one goal in their qualifying campaign for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, as well as 3 appearances and a goal in the qualifiers for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

International goals

Coaching

Following his retirement, Sekagya joined the coaching staff of the

. On 2 July 2022, Sekagya was named interim head coach for the Red Bulls'

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side,

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

Honours

Ferro

(1): ** 2002–03

RB Salzburg

(3): ** 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12 *

(1): ** 2012

NY Red Bulls

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

(1): ** 2013

Club career

References

External links

* * *
Ibrahim Sekagya at Football Lineups
*
Guardian Football Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekagya, Ibrahim 1980 births Living people Footballers from Kampala Ugandan men's footballers 21st-century Ugandan sportsmen Uganda men's international footballers Ugandan expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Kampala Capital City Authority FC players Atlético de Rafaela footballers Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Arsenal de Sarandí footballers FC Red Bull Salzburg players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls non-playing staff Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Primera B Metropolitana players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in Austria Ugandan expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL Championship coaches New York Red Bulls II coaches Ugandan expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States