Ayo Akinola Explained

Ayo Akinola
Fullname:Ayomide Bamidele Akinola[1]
Birth Name:Grant Jesus-Sultan-Akinola Ogundimu[2]
Birth Date:20 January 2000
Birth Place:Detroit, Michigan, United States
Height:1.77m (05.81feet)[3]
Position:Forward
Currentclub:FC Wil
Youthyears1:2008–2014
Youthclubs1:Brampton East SC
Youthyears2:2015–2017
Youthclubs2:Toronto FC
Years1:2016
Clubs1:Toronto FC II
Caps1:10
Goals1:2
Years2:2018–2024
Clubs2:Toronto FC
Caps2:83
Goals2:15
Years3:2018–2023
Clubs3:Toronto FC II (loan)
Caps3:25
Goals3:6
Years4:2023
Clubs4:San Jose Earthquakes (loan)
Caps4:7
Goals4:0
Years5:2024–
Clubs5:FC Wil
Caps5:1
Goals5:0
Nationalyears1:2015
Nationalteam1:United States U15
Nationalcaps1:7
Nationalgoals1:5
Nationalyears2:2015–2017
Nationalteam2:United States U17
Nationalcaps2:32
Nationalgoals2:24
Nationalyears3:2018–2019
Nationalteam3:United States U20
Nationalcaps3:12
Nationalgoals3:9
Nationalyears4:2020
Nationalteam4:United States
Nationalcaps4:1
Nationalgoals4:1
Nationalyears5:2021–
Nationalteam5:Canada
Nationalcaps5:4
Nationalgoals5:0
Club-Update:August 3, 2024
Nationalteam-Update:March 28, 2023

Ayomide Bamidele Akinola (born January 20, 2000) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Swiss Challenge League club FC Wil. Born in the United States, he has represented the Canada national team.

Early life

Akinola was born in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to Brampton, Ontario in 2005.[4] As a teenager, he played in the TFC Academy.[5] He graduated from St. Marguerite d'Youville Secondary School in 2018.[6]

Club career

Toronto FC II

Akinola was called up to the Toronto FC II set-up for the 2016 USL season.[5] On June 15, 2016, he made his debut as an 80th-minute substitute for Shaan Hundal in a 1–1 draw with FC Montreal. Akinola made his first start a week later in a 4–1 defeat to Louisville City.[7] On July 11, he scored a brace in a 4–2 win against the Harrisburg City Islanders and was named to the USL Team of the Week.[8] He finished the season with two goals from 10 appearances.

Akinola tried out for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven in November 2017.[9]

Toronto FC

On December 18, 2017, Akinola signed as a homegrown player with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.[10] He became the 15th player to graduate from the TFC Academy and sign for the first team, and the 34th academy graduate to sign a professional contract for one of the Toronto FC teams.[11] On March 17, 2019, Akinola scored his first ever MLS goal in Toronto FC's home opener against the New England Revolution.[12]

Akinola scored his second and third MLS goals for Toronto on July 13, 2020, in the MLS is Back Tournament in a 2–2 draw against D.C. United.[13] He scored a hat-trick in his team's second game of the tournament against the Montreal Impact.[14] He finished the 2020 season as the co-leading scorer for Toronto with Alejandro Pozuelo, both of whom scored 9 goals, although Pozuelo played nearly twice as many minutes.[15]

In July 2021, Akinola had an ACL injury while on international duty with Canada, resulting in him missing the remainder of the 2021 season.[16] In January 2022, Akinola would sign a contract extension with Toronto through the 2024 season, with an option for 2025.[17]

In July 2023, he was loaned to fellow MLS side San Jose Earthquakes for the remainder of the 2023 season, with San Jose holding a purchase option.[18]

In May 2024, he agreed to a mutual termination of his contract.[19]

FC Wil

In July 2024, Akinola would sign with Swiss Challenge League club FC Wil on a one-year contract.[20]

International career

Akinola was eligible to play internationally for the United States, Canada, and Nigeria, due to birth, residency, and heritage, respectively.[21] [22] While he was playing for the United States youth teams, both the Canadian Soccer Association and the Nigeria Football Federation had reached out to Akinola regarding his future at the senior international level. In 2018, Akinola commented "No time to rush. But at some point, I'm going to have to make a decision which one is the best fit for me."[23]

United States

In April 2015, Akinola made his international debut for the United States U15 national soccer team, appearing in a 4–1 victory against Costa Rica. The following day he scored his first international goal, netting four in a 6–2 win against Croatia. He also scored in his final appearances for the U15s in a 3–3 draw in England.[24]

In December 2015, Akinola was called up to the United States U17 squad and played 40 minutes in a 3–2 defeat to England U16s. He scored his first goal against Brazil in March 2016, before scoring a brace against Russia a few days later. In October 2017, Akinola scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Ghana at the FIFA U17 World Cup in India.[25]

He was called up to the U.S. senior team for their friendly match on December 9, 2020, against El Salvador.[26] He scored a goal in his debut for the Americans against El Salvador, taking a knee and raising a fist in the air following his goal in a show of support for the racial equality movement.[27] [28]

Canada

Akinola accepted an invitation to a Canada training camp held in January 2021,[29] but was forced to withdraw for health reasons.[30] He then accepted an invitation to join the Canadian team for training prior to their World Cup qualifying matches on May 29, 2021.[31] He was named to Canada's 60-man preliminary squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 18, 2021.[32] The Canadian Soccer Association confirmed on June 30 that he had filed his one-time switch to represent Canada internationally,[33] and was named to the final 23-man squad for the Gold Cup on July 1,[34] Akinola made his first appearance for Canada at the tournament in their second group game against Haiti on July 15.[35] In his second match for Canada, on July 18, 2021, Akinola faced his former country, the United States in the final round of the group stage. Akinola ruptured his ACL in the 24th minute of that match, effectively ruling him out of not only the remainder of the tournament, but also the rest of the club season with Toronto FC.[16]

Personal life

Ayo's younger brother Tom is also a soccer player and was a member of the TFC Academy and has attended a Canadian under-14 camp.

Career statistics

Club

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonLeaguePlayoffsNational cupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Toronto FC II2016United Soccer League102102
Toronto FC2018Major League Soccer402161
201981102[36] 0111
202015[37] 910169
202111320133
20222624[38] 2304
202314010150
20245000000050
Total8315108340009618
Toronto FC II (loan)2018United Soccer League165165
2019USL League One8181
2023MLS Next Pro1010
Total256256
San Jose Earthquakes (loan)2023Major League Soccer70001[39] 080
FC Wil2024–25Swiss Challenge League100000000010
Career total126231083401014026

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
United States202011
Total11
Canada202120
202210
202310
Total40
Career total50

As of match played December 9, 2020. Akinola's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Akinola goal.[7]

International goals by date, venue, team, opponent, score, result and competition
scope=colNo.scope=col data-sort-type=dateDatescope=colVenuescope=colTeamscope=colOpponentscope=colScorescope=colResultscope=colCompetition
scope=row1December 9, 2020Inter Miami CF Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States5–06–0Friendly

Honours

Toronto FC

2020[40]

United States U20

2018

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National team roster 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup. CONCACAF.
  2. Web site: FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of players . FIFA . May 15, 2019 . May 17, 2019.
  3. Web site: Ayo Akinola . August 21, 2022 . Toronto FC.
  4. Web site: How Brampton shaped these 4 professionals . CBC Toronto . 9:15.
  5. Web site: Ayo Akinola. Toronto FC. June 30, 2016.
  6. Web site: Tweet – St. Marguerite d'Youville CSS . Twitter.
  7. Web site: USA – A. Akinola – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway. Soccerway. June 30, 2016.
  8. Web site: Ayo Akinola Named To USL Team Of The Week. July 12, 2016. Toronto FC. March 15, 2018.
  9. Web site: Toronto FC academy player, US U-17 Ayo Akinola takes trial with PSV. Grossi. James. November 15, 2017. MLS Soccer. March 15, 2018.
  10. News: Teenage forward Ayo Akinola signs as Toronto FC homegrown player. December 18, 2017. Toronto Sun. March 15, 2018. en-US.
  11. Web site: Toronto FC Sign Ayo Akinola. torontofc.ca. MLS. December 18, 2017. January 27, 2018.
  12. Web site: Dual-national US U-20 forward Ayo Akinola scores first MLS goal for TFC. March 17, 2019. Charles. Boehm. Major League Soccer. December 11, 2020. June 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190611042754/https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/03/17/dual-national-us-u-20-forward-ayo-akinola-scores-first-mls-goal-tfc. dead.
  13. Web site: D.C. United's late rally nets two goals earning 2–2 draw against Toronto FC . Fox Sports . July 13, 2020 . July 13, 2020.
  14. Web site: Ayo Akinola hat trick lifts TFC past the Montreal Impact. July 16, 2020. Toronto Star.
  15. Web site: By The Numbers: Where have the goals gone for Toronto FC?. Mitchell. Tierney. Martyn. Bailey. November 13, 2020. Waking the Red. December 3, 2020. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830110439/https://www.wakingthered.com/2020/11/13/21562386/by-the-numbers-where-have-the-goals-gone-for-tfc. dead.
  16. Web site: Ayo Akinola suffers ACL injury. July 20, 2021.
  17. Web site: Toronto FC sign Ayo Akinola to new deal. Toronto FC. January 20, 2022.
  18. Web site: Toronto FC loan forward Ayo Akinola to San Jose Earthquakes. July 25, 2023. Toronto FC.
  19. Web site: Toronto FC and Ayo Akinola agree on mutual contract termination. May 7, 2024. Toronto FC.
  20. Web site: FC Wil 1900 erpflichtet MLS Stuermer/. FC Wil. July 3, 2024.
  21. Web site: Toronto FC wonderkid Akinola set to follow in the footsteps of Man Utd's Olosunde. All Nigeria Soccer. Igho. Kingsley. September 19, 2017. October 6, 2017.
  22. Web site: Toronto FC II's Akinola Ascending with U.S. U17s. USL Soccer. December 10, 2016. December 15, 2016.
  23. News: TFC's Ayo Akinola has tough choice on international future . February 28, 2019 . Toronto Star.
  24. Web site: Ayo Akinola. ussoccer.com. June 30, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160708085801/http://www.ussoccer.com/players/2014/05/14/10/11/akinola-ayo#tab-1. July 8, 2016. dead.
  25. Web site: TFC's Akinola scores as US U-17s edge Ghana in key U-17 World Cup clash. October 9, 2017.
  26. Web site: Ayo Akinola named to American squad for upcoming friendly vs El Salvador. Brady. Reid. November 30, 2020. Waking the Red. December 1, 2020. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830110440/https://www.wakingthered.com/2020/11/30/21752452/ayo-akinola-named-to-american-squad-for-upcoming-friendly-vs-el-salvador. dead.
  27. Web site: Mueller, Akinola lead US rout of El Salvador in exhibition. December 9, 2020. TSN.
  28. Web site: Ayo Akinola takes a knee after scoring 1st goal in 1st appearance for U.S. national team. Michael. Singh. December 9, 2020. Waking the Red. December 10, 2020. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830111946/https://www.wakingthered.com/2020/12/9/22166931/ayo-akinola-takes-a-knee-after-scoring-1st-goal-in-1st-appearance-for-u-s-national-team. dead.
  29. Web site: TFC's Ayo Akinola accepts invite to Canadian national team camp. December 23, 2020. Neil. Davidson. CBC.
  30. Web site: Toronto FC's Ayo Akinola unable to attend Canada camp due to injury. January 14, 2021. Sportsnet.
  31. Web site: Ayo Akinola among 6 Toronto FC players named to 'extended' Canada squad. May 31, 2021. Michael. Singh. Waking the Red. May 31, 2021. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830111944/https://www.wakingthered.com/2021/5/31/22462192/ayo-akinola-among-6-toronto-fc-players-named-to-extended-canada-squad. dead.
  32. Web site: Canada names 60 man preliminary roster for Gold Cup. June 18, 2021.
  33. Web site: Ayo Akinola Joins Canada's Men's National Team Program. Canadian Soccer Association. June 30, 2021.
  34. Web site: CANADA SOCCER ANNOUNCES 2021 CONCACAF GOLD CUP ROSTER. July 1, 2021.
  35. Web site: Akinola makes first appearance as Canada defeats Haiti to move on to Gold Cup quarter-finals. July 15, 2021. Michael. Singh. Waking the Red. July 16, 2021. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830110441/https://www.wakingthered.com/2021/7/15/22579462/akinola-makes-first-appearance-as-canada-defeats-haiti-to-move-on-to-gold-cup-quarter-finals. dead.
  36. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  37. Includes three appearances and five goals in MLS is Back Tournament group stage
  38. Includes appearance in 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022)
  39. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
  40. News: At last, Toronto FC capture 2020 Canadian Championship over Forge FC. Major League Soccer. June 4, 2022. June 4, 2022.