Hanson Boakai

Hanson Tamba Boakai (born 28 October 1996) is a Canadian professional soccer midfielder who plays for FC Edmonton.

Hanson Boakai
Personal information
Full name Hanson Tamba Boakai
Date of birth (1996-10-28) 28 October 1996
Place of birth Teldou, Guinea
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC Edmonton
Number 10
Youth career
Xtreme FC
2011–2013 FC Edmonton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 FC Edmonton 30 (1)
2016 Dugopolje 0 (0)
2016 Landskrona BoIS 4 (0)
2017 UTA Arad 2 (0)
2018 Ekenäs IF 23 (6)
2019 Inter Turku 2 (0)
2020– FC Edmonton 0 (0)
National team‡
2011 Canada U15 1 (0)
2013 Canada U17 7 (2)
2014–2015 Canada U20 9 (1)
2015 Canada U23 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 December 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2015

He holds the record for the youngest player ever to appear in a NASL game at the age of 16 years and 231 days, taking the record away from his former coach, Colin Miller.[1]

Club career

Boakai was born to Liberian parents in Teldou,[2] a small southwestern village in Guinea located a short distance from the border with Sierra Leone.[3] He moved to Edmonton, Alberta, when he was seven-years old.[4] Before joining FC Edmonton's reserves, Boakai played for Xtreme FC. He joined FC Edmonton in 2011 after trying-out with the side.[4]

FC Edmonton

After spending two years with the reserves, Boakai was signed professional by FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League on 20 February 2013, becoming the youngest player ever signed by an NASL side.[5] On 16 June 2013 Boakai made his professional debut for Edmonton against the Carolina Railhawks in which he came on in the 65th minute for Sadi Jalali and at the same time becoming the youngest ever player to play an NASL game.[1] Edmonton drew the game 1–1.[1]

Boakai scored his first goal for FC Edmonton against Ottawa Fury FC in the 2014 Canadian Championship. FC Edmonton won the game 3–1 and advanced to the semi-finals.[6]

Boakai scored his first goal in the NASL against the San Antonio Scorpions in a 4–0 win on 5 July 2015.[7] His contract with FC Edmonton expired at the end of the 2015 season.[8]

Dugopolje

In February 2016 Boakai signed a contract until the end of the season with Croatian Second Division club NK Dugopolje.[9]

Landskrona BoIS

On 11 July 2016 Boakai signed with Landskrona, who play in Division 1 Södra, the third tier of football in Sweden, which was to run through 2017 November.[10] In November 2016, Landskrona announced that Boakai's contract was terminated.[11]

UTA Arad

After almost a year without contract, Boakai signed with Romanian Liga II side UTA Arad in October 2017.[12] Due to visa issues, Boakai was unable to appear for UTA for over a month before making his debut on 10 November 2017 as a 71st-minute substitute in a 2-1 loss to Târgu Mureș.[13]

Ekenäs IF

Boakai joined Finnish Ykkönen side Ekenäs IF on 16 March 2018. Made his first appearance 14 April 2018.[14] He scored his first goal for the club against FC KTP on 26 June 2018. At the end of the season, Ekenäs picked up Boakai's option for the 2019 season.[15] Boakai would score 6 goals and add 6 assists for Ekenäs in 2018.

Inter Turku

After one season with Ekenäs, Boakai would be transferred to Veikkausliiga side Inter Turku for the 2019 season, with a contract option for the 2020 season.[16]

Return to Edmonton

On 4 December 2019, Boakai signed for the second time with his youth club FC Edmonton, now playing in the Canadian Premier League.[17]

International career

Canada

Boakai had played for the Canada U15 soccer side while with the Edmonton reserves.[4] He then played for the Canada U17 during the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, scoring against Costa Rica U17 and Jamaica U17 sides as Canada managed to make it the semi-finals and thus qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[18][19]

Boakai continued to represent Canada at the U20 level and was a part of the team that traveled to Northern Ireland for the 2014 Milk Cup.[20] After a strong showing for the youth sides, and a continued presence with Edmonton, Canada coach Benito Floro called up Boakai to the senior team for a friendly against Colombia in October 2014.[21] He did not play, however.

Liberia

In September 2019, Boakai was called up to the Liberia national team for a friendly against Botswana.[22]

Career statistics
As of 16 June 2019[23]
Club League Season League Domestic Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Edmonton NASL 2013 30000030
2014 1504100191
2015 1212000141
Total 3016100362
Landskrona BoIS Division 1 Södra 2016 40000040
UTA Arad Liga II 2017–18 20000020
Ekenäs IF Ykkönen 2018 2361000246
Inter Turku Veikkausliiga 2019 20410061
Career Total 61711200729
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References
  1. "Boakai Becomes Youngest Ever To Play in the NASL". North American Soccer League. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  2. Canada Soccer Profile
  3. "Guinea: Reference Map of N'Zérékoré Region (as of 17 Fev 2015)" (PDF). reliefweb.int. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  4. "#12 Hanson Boakai". FC Edmonton. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  5. Sandor, Steve. "FC Edmonton announces signings of five youth prospects". The 11. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  6. "FC Edmonton advance to Amway Canadian Championship semi-final with a 3:1 win". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  7. "FC Edmonton Sting Scorpions in Fort McMurray". 5 July 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  8. "Edmonton's Boakai Attracting Interest From MLS, Europe". goal.com. Goal. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  9. Propadalo, Karlo (17 February 2018). "Hanson Boakai potpisuje za Dugopolje". Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. "BoIS amplifies with Prica and Boakai (Swedish)". Landskrona BoIS website. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  11. "Last Bois squad". Landskrona BoIS website. 21 November 2016.
  12. ""Messi al Canadei" vrea să joace la UTA. Todea îl testează pe mijlocaşul de 20 de ani recordmen în Liga Nord-Americană". Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  13. "UTA – ASA Tg. Mureș 1 – 2, final". Arad Online. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  14. "EIF har värvat kanadensisk mittfältare". 16 March 2018.
  15. Sundström, Jesper (20 November 2018). ""Kanske EIF:s bästa säsong någonsin"".
  16. "Boakai ja Louhela täydentämään FC Interin joukkuetta". Inter Turku. 8 December 2018.
  17. Kassim Khimji (4 December 2019). "Hanson Boakai returns to FC Edmonton for 2020 CPL season". FC Edmonton. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  18. "Canada U17 1–1 Costa Rica U17". CONCACAF. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  19. "Canada U17 4–2 Jamaica U17". CONCACAF. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  20. "FC Edmonton's Boakai one to watch for the future". sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. 7 August 2014.
  21. "Canada's squad set for Colombia clash". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer. 3 October 2014.
  22. "Four Foreign-Based Players on Lone Star Team for Botswana Friendly". bushchicken.com. The Bush Chicken. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  23. Hanson Boakai at Soccerway
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