| Darren Smith | |
| Birth Date: | 1996 3, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Height: | 1.76m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Inter Turku |
| Clubnumber: | 9 |
| Youthclubs1: | Ajax Cape Town |
| Youthyears1: | –2014 |
| Years1: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs1: | AmaZulu |
| Caps1: | 3 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs2: | → Vasco da Gama (loan) |
| Caps2: | 21 |
| Goals2: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs4: | Santos |
| Caps4: | 13 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years5: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs5: | SuperSport United |
| Caps5: | 5 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Years6: | 2019 |
| Clubs6: | → Ubuntu Cape Town (loan) |
| Caps6: | 10 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2020 |
| Clubs7: | EIF |
| Caps7: | 22 |
| Goals7: | 18 |
| Years8: | 2021 |
| Clubs8: | Honka |
| Caps8: | 24 |
| Goals8: | 8 |
| Years9: | 2022 |
| Clubs9: | AS FAR |
| Caps9: | 9 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Years10: | 2023– |
| Clubs10: | Inter Turku |
| Caps10: | 45 |
| Goals10: | 15 |
| Club-Update: | 16 August 2024 |
Darren Smith (born 26 March 1996) is a South African professional soccer player for Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku. He played in a youth sector of Ajax Cape Town, before joining Kwazulu-Natal club AmaZulu in 2014.
Smith started his senior career in his native South Africa with AmaZulu in 2014.[1] During his six professional years in his native country, he played mostly in second tier National First Division, and additionally made a total of six appearances and scored once in first tier South African Premier Division. He represented Vasco da Gama, Santos, SuperSport United and Ubuntu Cape Town between 2015 and 2019. In 2017–18 season while playing with SuperSport United, Smith represented his club at CAF Confederation Cup matches.
In the early 2020, Smith moved abroad for the first time and signed a contract with Finnish club Ekenäs IF (EIF), playing in the second-tier level Ykkönen. In the season, Smith scored 18 goals in 22 matches, making him the top goalscorer in the division. He was named the Ykkönen Player of the Year.[2]
On 11 November 2020, FC Honka in Finnish premier division Veikkausliiga announced the signing of Smith for the 2021 season.[3] [4] Smith made 24 appearances in the league, scoring eight goals. He also represented Honka in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers in four matches.[1]
In the early 2022, Smith signed with Moroccan club AS FAR Rabat, playing in Botola Pro, the country's premier division, becoming the first South African football player to sign with Moroccan club.[5] In May 2022, Smith won the title of the postponed 2019–20 Moroccan Throne Cup with AS FAR.[6]
In November 2022, Smith returned to Finland and signed a two-year deal with Inter Turku in Veikkausliiga, starting in 2023.[7] [8] [9] During his first season with the club, Smith scored eight goals in 27 league appearances.[10] [11] In the 2024 Finnish League Cup, Smith scored five goals in six cup matches as Inter Turku won it's second Finnish League Cup title on 30 March 2024, by defeating KuPS on penalties in the final.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Other | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| AmaZulu | 2014–15 | South African Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | NFD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Vasco da Gama (loan) | 2014–15 | NFD | 12 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | NFD | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 2 | |||
| Santos | 2016–17 | NFD | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
| SuperSport United | 2017–18 | South African Premiership | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | South African Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |||
| Ubuntu Cape Town (loan) | 2018–19 | NFD | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| EIF | 2020 | Ykkönen | 22 | 18 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 27 | 21 | |||
| Honka | 2021 | Veikkausliiga | 24 | 8 | 6 | 2 | — | 4 | 0 | 34 | 10 | ||
| AS FAR Rabat | 2021–22 | Botola Pro | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | ||
| Inter Turku | 2023 | Veikkausliiga | 27 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 34 | 9 | ||
| 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 18 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | — | 28 | 15 | |||
| Total | 45 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 24 | |||
| Career total | 152 | 48 | 24 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 195 | 62 | |||
2024[12]