Kwasi Poku
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | February 6, 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Brampton, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Forge FC | ||
Number | 20 | ||
Youth career | |||
Brampton East SC | |||
Woodbridge Strikers | |||
Unionville Milliken SC | |||
Toronto FC | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2021 | Toronto FC III | 4 | (0) |
2021 | Toronto FC II | 1 | (0) |
2022– | Forge FC | 40 | (3) |
2023 | → Sigma FC (loan) | 1 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2022– | Canada U20 | 5 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 7, 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 26, 2022 |
Kwasi Poku (born February 6, 2003) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Forge FC.
Early life[edit]
Poku began playing youth soccer at age six with Brampton East SC.[1] He later played youth soccer with the Woodbridge Strikers, with whom he won the 2017 U14 Ontario Indoor Cup, scoring a hat-trick against Ottawa St. Anthony.[2] He was also part of the provincial Team Ontario that year.[3] He later played for Unionville Milliken SC.[4] He later joined the Toronto FC Academy.[5]
Club career[edit]
In 2021, he played with Toronto FC III in the League1 Ontario Summer Championship division making his debut on July 31 against Alliance United.[6] After the season, he joined the second team Toronto FC II in USL League One. He made his debut on October 1, 2021 against North Carolina FC.[7] In February 2022, he departed the Toronto FC organization.[8]
In February 2022, he signed a professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.[9] He made his debut for his new club on February 16 in a 2022 CONCACAF Champions League match against Cruz Azul.[10][11] Poku scored his first goal on October 9, 2022 in a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC.[12] In January 2023, Poku went on trial with Swedish Allsvenskan club BK Häcken.[13]
In 2023, he played one game on loan with Forge's affiliate Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[14] In later September 2023, he was named the CPL player of the week.[15] At the end of the 2023 season, he was nominated for the CPL U21 Player of the Year award.[16][17] In October of the same year, he helped Forge win their fourth league title, following a 2–1 win over Cavalry FC in the play-off final.[18] During the 2024 season, he was moved from his typical left-back position to centre forward, after several injuries to the team's forwards.[19]
International career[edit]
Born in Canada, Poku is of Ghanaian descent.[20] In April 2022, he was called up to the Canadian Under-20 team for two matches against Costa Rica.[21] In June 2022, he was named to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[22] He appeared in all four of the team's matches, playing a total of 385 minutes, prior to their elimination in the round of 16.[23]
Career statistics[edit]
- As of 28 October 2023[24]
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Toronto FC III | 2021[6] | League1 Ontario Summer Championship | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
Toronto FC II | 2021 | USL League One | 1 | 0 | — | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Forge FC | 2022 | Canadian Premier League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
2023 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |||
Total | 40 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 3 | ||
Sigma FC (loan) | 2023[14] | League1 Ontario | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Career total | 46 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 3 |
- ^ Includes appearance in the 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022)
References[edit]
- ^ Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Leads Woodbridge Strikers to U-14 Boys Ontario Indoor Cup Title". Ontario Soccer Association. January 26, 2017.
- ^ "Team Ontario U14 Boys" (PDF). Ontario Soccer Association.
- ^ Motta Silva, Nicolas (November 16, 2018). "BMO Champions CUP: Day One and Two Recap". Toronto FC.
- ^ "Forge FC signs ex-HFX midfielder Sissoko, local product Poku". Canadian Premier League. February 2, 2022.
- ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2021 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ Martin, Hannah (October 1, 2021). "Match Recap: North Carolina FC Fall to Toronto FC II on the Road". North Carolina FC.
- ^ Molinaro, John (October 26, 2023). "Ex-TFC academy product Kwasi Poku set for CPL Final with Forge". TFC Republic.
- ^ "Forge FC Sign Midfielders Sissoko & Poku". Forge FC. February 2, 2022.
- ^ "Brampton's Kwasi Poku impresses despite Forge loss". Brampton Soccer. February 17, 2022.
- ^ Urciuoli, Anthony (August 11, 2022). "'Ready for a little bit of everything:' Kwasi Poku makes big strides in first pro season". Forge FC.
- ^ Myrer, George (October 9, 2022). "HFX Wanderers' disappointing season comes to a close with loss to Forge". SaltWire Network.
- ^ Jacques, John (January 17, 2023). "Forge's Poku On Trial With BK Hacken". Northern Tribune.
- ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Named CPL Player of the Week for Week 24". Forge FC. September 26, 2023.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Nominated for Best Canadian Under-21 Player". Forge FC. October 17, 2023.
- ^ "Cameron, De Brienne, Poku nominated for Best Canadian U-21 Player Award". Canadian Premier League. October 17, 2023.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (October 28, 2023). "HIGHLIGHTS + ANALYSIS: Forge wins 2023 North Star Cup, defeating Cavalry to lift fourth playoff crown (Oct. 28, 2023)". OneSoccer. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
- ^ "What makes Kwasi Poku so effective as a striker? - CPL Newsroom pres. by Volkswagen". Canadian Premier League. June 5, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian-born Ghanaian youngster Kwasi Poku on trials at BK Häcken". Kick GH. January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Bontis & Poku called up to the men's U20 national team camp in Costa Rica". Forge FC. April 5, 2022.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 10, 2022). "6 CPLers named to Canada squad for Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (September 9, 2023). "'I'm excited to see what's next': After brief taste of Europe, Forge's Kwasi Poku eager to be latest CPL export". OneSoccer.
- ^ Kwasi Poku at Soccerway
External links[edit]
- Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
- Kwasi Poku at Soccerway
- 2003 births
- Living people
- Canadian men's soccer players
- Canadian people of Ghanaian descent
- Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent
- Soccer players from Brampton
- Men's association football midfielders
- Toronto FC players
- League1 Ontario players
- Toronto FC II players
- USL League One players
- Woodbridge Strikers players
- Unionville Milliken SC players
- Forge FC players
- Canadian Premier League players
- Canada men's youth international soccer players
- Sigma FC players
- Toronto FC Academy players