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) | Striker, Left back | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | RWD Molenbeek | ||
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) |
2022–2024 | Forge FC | 60 | (11) |
2023 | → Sigma FC (loan) | 1 | (0) |
2024– | RWD Molenbeek | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2022 | Canada U20 | 5 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 21, 2024 ‡ 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 RWD Molenbeek in the Challenger Pro League.
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]Toronto FC
[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]
Forge FC
[edit]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][20][21] On June 23, 2024, he scored a brace in a 2–1 victory over Valour FC.[22][23] He was named the league's Player of the Month for June 2024.[24] On July 10, he scored a backheel goal against Major League Soccer club Toronto FC in a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship semi-finals.[25] On July 14, he scored another brace in a 2–1 victory over Pacific FC,[26] earning league Player of the Week honours.[27] In August 2024, he began to be held out of matches for precautionary reasons, amid transfer interest from foreign clubs.[28][29][30]
RWD Molenbeek
[edit]On August 21, 2024, Poku transferred to to RWD Molenbeek for an undisclosed CPL-record transfer fee.[31][32]
International career
[edit]Born in Canada, Poku is of Ghanaian descent.[33] In April 2022, he was called up to the Canadian Under-20 team for two matches against Costa Rica.[34] In June 2022, he was named to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[35] 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.[36]
Career statistics
[edit]- As of August 21, 2024[37]
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 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
2023 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
2024 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 10 | ||
Total | 60 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 74 | 13 | ||
Sigma FC (loan) | 2023[14] | League1 Ontario | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Career total | 66 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 80 | 13 |
- ^ 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.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 3, 2024). "'It plays to my strengths': Why Kwasi Poku is thriving as a striker with Forge FC". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku's Explosive Form in the Canadian Premier League: A Rising Star". Forge FC. July 30, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 23, 2024). "Match Analysis: Early Poku brace lifts Forge over Valour despite back-and-forth second half". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ Parkes, David (June 24, 2024). "Forge 2-1 Valour: Poku Gives Valour Hammer Blow". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "Forge FC's Kwasi Poku named CPL Player of the Month for June". Canadian Premier League. July 3, 2024.
- ^ Parisis, Quentin (July 16, 2024). "14e journée de CPL : L'Atlético Ottawa en forme; Kwasi Poku en feu" [CPL Matchday 14: Atlético Ottawa in form; Kwasi Poku on fire]. Canadian Premier League (in French).
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 14, 2024). "Match Analysis: Poku brace powers persistent Forge past Pacific FC at Tim Hortons Field". Canadian Premier League.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku Named CPL Player of the Week for Week 14". Forge FC. July 17, 2024.
- ^ "Kwasi Poku held out of Forge lineup amid 'interest in the transfer market'". Canadian Premier League. August 15, 2024.
- ^ Jacques, John (August 15, 2024). "Poku Absent Amid 'Quite A Bit Of Interest' In Transfer Market". Northern Tribune.
- ^ Healey, Josh (August 15, 2024). "Forge FC mulling over multiple offers — with interest from North America and Europe — for Kwasi Poku". Wanderers Notebook.
- ^ "Forge FC Announce League Record Transfer Fee of Kwasi Poku to RWD Molenbeek" (Press release). Forge FC. August 21, 2024. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ "Challenger Pro League - Le Canadien Kwasi Poku signe pour deux ans au RWDM" [Challenger Pro League: Canadian Kwasi Poku signs for two years at RWDM]. La Libre Belgique (in French). Belga. August 21, 2024. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 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 forwards
- Canadian expatriate soccer players
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
- Toronto FC players
- Toronto FC II players
- Sigma FC players
- Toronto FC Academy players
- Forge FC players
- R.W.D. Molenbeek (2015) players
- League1 Ontario players
- USL League One players
- Canadian Premier League players
- Canada men's youth international soccer players