Ronald Mugabi, formerly a midfielder for SC Villa, hopes to play for the Kalamazoo Kingdom of the Premier Development League this summer in order to expose his skills to Major League Soccer (MLS), he told The Monitor.

Mugabi, now a business student at Tiffin University in Ohio, U.S., said among the Kingdom's opponents are reserves for such MLS teams as the Columbus (Ohio) Crew.

"Of course, yes," Mugabi said when asked if he would like to play in the MLS some day. "Everyone would love to."

Fellow Ugandan Eugene Ssepuya, who plays for Alabama A&M, first told Mugabi about the Kingdom, of Michigan, U.S., and after Mugabi contacted them, the U.S. Soccer Federation requested an International Transfer Certificate from Villa.

Mugabi told The Monitor he expects Villa to submit the ITC because he never signed a contract with Villa and was playing as an amateur.

Tiffin finished the season at 14-6-1. Mugabi and fellow Ugandan Ali Lukungu led the Dragons in scoring and assists this season.

Mugabi said Lukungu has not yet decided what he will do this summer.

Mugabi told The Monitor he is enjoying Tiffin; "I now have many friends," he said. "I kind of feel at home. I love everyone around here and they love me too."

However, he also said he is homesick and wished he had gone home for Christmas. He especially misses his family and the warm Ugandan weather; Tiffin is in one of the colder parts of the U.S.

Already fearful of flying, Mugabi is even more averse to traveling by air after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. This has kept him from taking a holiday to Uganda.