Abdul Majeed Waris (born 19 September 1991) is a Ghanaian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a striker for Cypriot club

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

and the Ghanaian national team.

Club career

Born in

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

, Waris started his career at the Ghanaian

Right to Dream Academy Right to Dream is a Ghanaian Youth system, football academy. The academy started in 1999 training a small number of boys in Accra and grew into a residential school and training center. As of 2021 it was owned by Mansour Group. History Right to ...

when he was twelve. He moved to England and joined

Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education which describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The university a ...

, while simultaneously gaining a place at the

Nike Academy The Nike Football Academy was an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc. The academy had a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and was run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy was ...

, where he would go on to feature in the reserves side at

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

BK Häcken

In October 2009, Waris signed a four-year contract with Swedish Allsvenskan side

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Formed on 2 August 1940, Häcken has p ...

for an undisclosed fee. He made his début in March 2010 as a substitute for

Dominic Chatto Dominic Chatto Bashir Jamilu (born 7 December 1985) is a retired Nigerian football midfielder. He has played three times in Nigerian youth teams. Club career Chatto was born in Kaduna, Nigeria. Chatto started playing football in the age of s ...

, in a 4–2 home win against

Trelleborgs FF Trelleborgs Fotbollsförening, more commonly known as Trelleborgs FF or simply Trelleborg, is a Swedish football club located in Trelleborg. Formed 6 December 1926, the club plays in Superettan, the second tier in the Swedish Football system. ...

. In May 2012, he netted his first hat-trick, scoring five goals, in a 6–0 home win against

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollförbund and play thei ...

. As a result, he became the first player in Allsvenskan to score five goals in one match in the 21st century. He also became the first Ghanaian to score five goals in single top-flight game in Europe as well as becoming the leading goalscorer in the 2012 Allsvenskan with 12 goals in nine games. In conclusion of the Allsvenskan season, Waris was named the Swedish Premier League's player of the year, which GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi quoted: ''"His achievements have brought honour to our country."'' His performance at Häcken earned him a transfer speculation by being linked with Bundesliga clubs, such as

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

, Saint-Étienne, Catania and Arsenal.

Spartak Moscow

In November 2012, Waris was transferred to

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

for an undisclosed fee. He made his RFPL debut on 10 March 2013, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute in Spartak's 3–1 win over

FC Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat ( ce, футболан клуб Ахмат Соьлжа-ГӀала; russian: Республиканский футбольный клуб Ахмат Грозный), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, is a Russian ...

. However, his first team chance at Spartak Moscow was limited, due to the dominance of strikers, such as

Emmanuel Emenike Emmanuel Chinenye Emenike (born 10 May 1987) is a Nigerian former Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He most recently played for Belgian club K.V.C. Westerlo, Westerlo. Club caree ...

Yura Movsisyan Yura Movsisyan ( hy, Յուրա Մովսիսյան; born 2 August 1987) is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Most notably, Movsisyan played for Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League. He played for the ...

Artyom Dzyuba Artem (or Artyom) Sergeyevich Dzyuba (russian: Артём Сергеевич Дзюба, ; born 22 August 1988) is a Russian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Russia national football team. He began his career with Spa ...

and Ariclenes da Silva Ferreira. Waris scored his first PFPL goal on 8 December 2013, in a 1–0 away victory over

FC Rostov FC Rostov (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб Ростов) is a Russian professional football club based in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. The club are members of the Russian Premier League, and play at the Rostov Arena. After the ...

, and was voted the Russian Premier League player of the week. Following the start of the winter break, he stated he wanted to leave the club, citing earning a first team place in the World Cup.

Valenciennes (loan)

In January 2014, Waris was loaned to Ligue 1 club

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, until 30 June 2014. He scored on his debut for the club in a 3–2 win over

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

on 14 January 2014 and was named Goal.com Ghana Player of the Week. After scoring two goals in six appearances, he scored twice on 22 February 2014 in a 2–2 draw against

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

. He scored five times in four consecutive games. Initially aiming to score eleven goals, Waris went on to score nine goals in his loan spell at Valenciennes. Despite the relegation, he expressed his desire to stay in France by making the move a permanent one. He returned to Spartak Moscow, but said he hoped that the club would bounce back to Ligue 1.

Trabzonspor

On 1 September 2014, Waris joined Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €5.5 million. He had previously been linked with a move to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

, but Spartak Moscow rejected a bid from the club. He made his Trabzonspor debut on 14 September 2014, in a 0–0 draw against Fenerbahçe, where he played 90 minutes and as a left winger in attack. Two months later, on 6 November 2014, he scored his first goal for the club, which came in the Europa League, in a 1–1 draw against Lokeren.

Lorient

On 6 August 2015, Waris' transfer to French Ligue 1 side

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

was announced. Media reported the transfer fee as €5 million and the duration of the contract as four years. This move caused controversy as Waris initially travelled to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

to sign for Lorient's rivals Rennes but was driven to Lorient upon his arrival.

FC Porto (loan)

In January 2018 Waris was loaned to Portuguese Primeira Liga side FC Porto on a six-month loan deal which involves a €6 million option to make the move permanent.

Strasbourg

On 16 January 2020, Waris returned to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, signing for Strasbourg on loan until the end of the season with obligation to buy in the summer for £2,000,000. He signed for the team on a 2-year permanent contract in August 2020 ahead of the 2020–21 season.

Anorthosis Famagusta

On 18 August 2022, Waris signed with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

club

on a two-year contract until 2024.

International career

Waris was called up to the

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

squad against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in February 2012, replacing both the injured

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

and

Jordan Ayew Jordan Pierre Ayew (born 11 September 1991) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Crystal Palace and the Ghana national team. He is the son of former Ghana captain Abedi Pele and brother of fellow players And ...

. He came on as a substitute for

Richard Mpong Richard Mpong (born 4 July 1990 in Tarkwa) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger,PPL Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Ph ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

. He scored the third goal in Ghana's 4–0 in World Cup Qualifying against Sudan on 24 March 2013 at the

Baba Yara Stadium Baba Yara Sports Stadium (also Kumasi Sports Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kumasi, Ashanti. It is Ghana's largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 40,528. The Kumasi Stadium is used mostly for football matches, although it is also u ...

in Kumasi. He also scored a goal against Egypt when Ghana defeated Egypt 6–1 in Kumasi in the first leg of the final World Cup qualifier. On 12 May 2014, Waris was named in a provisional 26-man squad in the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Ghana manager

James Kwesi Appiah James Kwesi Appiah (born 30 June 1960), also known as Akwasi Appiah, is a Ghanaian football coach and former player who played as a left back. He is currently the head coach of Kenpong Football Academy. Early life and education Appiah was born ...

. On 2 June 2014, he made the cut to be included in Ghana's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Personal life

Waris is a practicing Muslim. He was formerly married to Habiba Sinare.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Porto * Primeira Liga: 2017–18 Individual * Allsvenskan top scorer:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

References

External links