George Desmond Kamurasi may have turned down the chance to become King of Tooro, but the 36-year-old goalkeeper still has one major ambition he hopes to fulfil — representing Uganda on the international stage.
The SE Dons captain has long expressed his desire to play for the Uganda Cranes and believes he could still earn a call-up despite his age.
“I’ve never hidden my ambitions of actually playing for my country, so that’s still a possibility with their goalkeeper and captain being 41,” Kamurasi told talkSPORT.
“I’m hoping one day that international call-up can actually come soon.”
Kamurasi’s comments come after he recently found himself at the centre of the Tooro succession process following the death of his cousin, King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, in August.
The Tooro Royal Succession Committee selected Kamurasi as its preferred successor to King Oyo. However, he declined the throne, choosing to remain in England, where he runs and plays for SE Dons.
Prince Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma was subsequently selected and enthroned as King Edward Rukidi Nyabongo I.
While Kamurasi walked away from the throne, football remains a major part of his life and his ambitions.
He is currently leading SE Dons through an impressive FA Cup campaign. The club, which started as a Sunday League side and now competes in the ninth tier of English football, reached the fourth qualifying round after a 5-1 win over Weymouth.
Victory over Sholing would take SE Dons into the first round proper of the FA Cup, putting Kamurasi and his teammates on an even bigger stage.
Kamurasi says remaining in England was also a way of honouring his late cousin through the club they had a connection with.
“I have respectfully spoken about this to members of my family and we’re respecting this FA Cup run in line with the loss of my cousin, he passed away,” he said.
“So, I’m back in the UK, I’m running our business, which is SE Dons, and honouring his name in any way I know best, which is winning and showing what desire and passion means for the people you care about.”
For Kamurasi, however, the prospect of playing for Uganda remains unfinished business.
With Uganda’s current captain and goalkeeper Denis Onyango now 41, Kamurasi believes there could still be an opportunity for him to make his international debut.
