Christopher Lenroy Nanco (born February 15, 1995) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays for

Forge FC Forge FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadian soccer. The club plays its home matches at Tim Hortons Field. Forge FC joined the CPL in 2019 as ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Early life

He began playing youth soccer with Brampton Youth SC. At age 12, he joined

Sigma FC Sigma Sports is a Canadian youth soccer development academy and player management company based in Mississauga, Ontario. They also operate a senior academy soccer team that currently competes in League1 Ontario, as Sigma FC. Over 140 Sigma player ...

. While with Sigma, he had an opportunity to trial with the Liverpool Academy in England in 2010.

College career

In June 2013, Nanco committed to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. He made his debut on August 30 against the

Colgate Raiders The Colgate Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Colgate University. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, track and field and tennis. Men's sports include g ...

. He scored his first two goals for Syracuse on September 9, 2013 against the

Manhattan Jaspers The Manhattan Jaspers are composed of 19 teams representing Manhattan College in intercollegiate athletics. The Jaspers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Manhattan College fields 19 Divisio ...

. As a sophomore, he scored five goals and added two assists, finishing as the team's second leading scorer. During his junior season, he began playing as a central forward, also playing a midfield role at times, transitioning from a primarily winger role in earlier seasons. He finished his junior season with four goals. On September 1, 2016, he had his second career two-goal game, leading Syracuse to a 3-0 victory over Colgate. As a senior, he led the team in scoring with seven goals and at the end of his senior season, he was named an All-ACC First Team All-Star and to the All-South Region third team. Through his time at Syracuse, the team had a perfect 16-0 record in games he scored. He was invited to the MLS Player Combine, ahead of the

2017 MLS SuperDraft The 2017 MLS SuperDraft was the eighteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The first two rounds of the 2017 S ...

Club career

From 2014 to 2016, Nanco played in

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league began play in 2014 and is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association as a pro-am league in the Canadian so ...

with

, during the college off-seasons. In 2016, he was named to the League1 Ontario All-Star Game roster for the West Division. In January 2017, Nanco was selected 55th overall in the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

. In March 2017, he signed a professional contract with the Union's

USL 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 ...

side,

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

. He scored his first professional goal in his professional debut on April 15, 2017, against the

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

. After the 2018 season, he departed the club. In November 2018, Nanco joined

for the inaugural season of the

in 2019, being one of the team's first two ever signings. Nanco helped Forge win the CPL championship in their first season. On August 22, 2019, he scored to lead Forge to a 1-0 victory in the first leg of the

CONCACAF League The CONCACAF League was an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF as its second-tier continental competition. It was announced on 8 May 2017. The competition uses a knockout cup format with each round having two leg ...

Round of 16 over Honduran club Olimpia. In 2020, Nanco missed half of the season with a hamstring injury, as Forge once again won the league title. In February 2021, he re-signed with the club for the 2021 season.

International career

In January 2011, he debuted in the Canadian national program, attending a camp with the Canada U17 team. He won a silver medal with them at the

2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship The 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship determined the four CONCACAF representatives to advance to the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Jamaica staged the championship between 14 and 27 February. The United States defeated Canada 3–0 in the fi ...

, scoring the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago U17 on February 23, 2011 to qualify Canada for the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the eleventh played since the change in age limits from under 16s to Under 17s in 1991. It was held in Mexico with games being played amongst various venues ...

, where he also played. In August 2014, he was named to the Canada U20 for the Dale Farm Milk Cup and was also named to the team for the

2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place from 9 to 24 January 2015 in Jamaica. It determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. Q ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanco, Chris 1995 births Living people Association football forwards Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Toronto Sportspeople from North York Black Canadian soccer players Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Syracuse Orange men's soccer players Philadelphia Union draft picks Philadelphia Union II players Forge FC players League1 Ontario players USL Championship players Canadian Premier League players Canada men's youth international soccer players 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship players Sigma FC players