Ajani "Jay" Fortune (born 30 December 2002) is a 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Major League Soccer club

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

. Born in the United States, he plays for the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

Club career

On 11 July 2020, at just 17 years-old, Fortune made his professional debut for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional ...

, the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

affiliate of

. That same season, Fortune scored his first professional goal against

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

with a right-footed strike from outside the box. On 27 August 2021, Fortune signed a professional contract with

. After a series of impressive performances for

rewarded Fortune with a first-team contract at the club, becoming only the 14th player in franchise history to transition from the academy to the first-team. Fortune was then named by head coach, former

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

midfielder, Jack Collison as team captain for

for the remainder of the 2022 USL season. Fortune made his Major League Soccer debut against

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

on March 11, 2023 becoming the youngest Trinidad and Tobago national team player to do so. On June 10, 2023, Fortune made his first career start for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer against D.C. United.

International career

Youth

Fortune was selected for the Trinidad and Tobago U-17 National Team for the 2019 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship. Fortune played all four games for Trinidad and Tobago as the team were eliminated in the second round of the tournament

Senior

At 18 years-old, Fortune received his first senior call-up in January 2021 ahead of a friendly with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. He made his debut in the game, as a starter. In June 2023, Fortune was named to the 23-man squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. In Trinidad's opening game of the tournament against

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

on June 25, he scored his first goal, netting the second in an eventual 3-0 victory.

Personal

Fortune's brother, Dre, plays for Nõmme Kalju FC of the

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-professional with ...

References

External links

* * 2002 births Living people Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago through descent Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers Trinidad and Tobago men's international footballers Trinidad and Tobago men's youth international footballers American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent Men's association football midfielders Atlanta United 2 players Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) USL Championship players Homegrown Players (MLS) Atlanta United FC players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players {{Trinidad-footy-bio-stub