Kwasi Poku

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Kwasi Poku
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-02-06) February 6, 2003 (age 21)
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][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 October 28, 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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
  1. ^ Includes appearance in the 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
  2. ^ "Kwasi Poku Leads Woodbridge Strikers to U-14 Boys Ontario Indoor Cup Title". Ontario Soccer Association. January 26, 2017.
  3. ^ "Team Ontario U14 Boys" (PDF). Ontario Soccer Association.
  4. ^ Motta Silva, Nicolas (November 16, 2018). "BMO Champions CUP: Day One and Two Recap". Toronto FC.
  5. ^ "Forge FC signs ex-HFX midfielder Sissoko, local product Poku". Canadian Premier League. February 2, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2021 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  7. ^ Martin, Hannah (October 1, 2021). "Match Recap: North Carolina FC Fall to Toronto FC II on the Road". North Carolina FC.
  8. ^ Molinaro, John (October 26, 2023). "Ex-TFC academy product Kwasi Poku set for CPL Final with Forge". TFC Republic.
  9. ^ "Forge FC Sign Midfielders Sissoko & Poku". Forge FC. February 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Brampton's Kwasi Poku impresses despite Forge loss". Brampton Soccer. February 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Urciuoli, Anthony (August 11, 2022). "'Ready for a little bit of everything:' Kwasi Poku makes big strides in first pro season". Forge FC.
  12. ^ Myrer, George (October 9, 2022). "HFX Wanderers' disappointing season comes to a close with loss to Forge". SaltWire Network.
  13. ^ Jacques, John (January 17, 2023). "Forge's Poku On Trial With BK Hacken". Northern Tribune.
  14. ^ a b "Kwasi Poku 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  15. ^ "Kwasi Poku Named CPL Player of the Week for Week 24". Forge FC. September 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "Kwasi Poku Nominated for Best Canadian Under-21 Player". Forge FC. October 17, 2023.
  17. ^ "Cameron, De Brienne, Poku nominated for Best Canadian U-21 Player Award". Canadian Premier League. October 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Wharnsby, Tim (October 28, 2023). "Borges scores 'Olimpico' goal as Forge FC completes comeback to win 4th CPL title". CBC. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "Canadian-born Ghanaian youngster Kwasi Poku on trials at BK Häcken". Kick GH. January 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "Bontis & Poku called up to the men's U20 national team camp in Costa Rica". Forge FC. April 5, 2022.
  22. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 10, 2022). "6 CPLers named to Canada squad for Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship". Canadian Premier League.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Kwasi Poku at Soccerway

External links[edit]

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