Emmanuel Agyenim "Ema" Boateng (born 17 January 1994) 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 winger. He last played for the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

of Major League Soccer (MLS) and left the club following the 2022 season.

Early life and education

Boateng was born and raised in Ghana in a home that lacked running water and electricity. As a preteen, he was selected to join the

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 ...

where he combined academic studies with football training. In 2009 at the age of 15, Boateng moved to the United States on a scholarship to attend

Cate School Cate School is a highly selective, coeducational university-preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9-12 located in Carpinteria, California, eleven miles from Santa Barbara. The school has a current enrollment of 270 students ...

in Carpinteria, California. In addition to playing for the Cate School team, he also appeared for other local youth sides in Santa Barbara Soccer Club and South Coast Strikers. Boateng received the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year award, presented to him by former winner

Alexi Lalas Panayotis Alexander "Alexi" Lalas ( el, Αλέξης Λάλας; born June 1, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played mostly as a defender. Lalas is best known for his participation with the United States men's national soccer te ...

, and became the first recipient in Cate School's 100+ year history across all sports. He skipped his final year of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

to enroll early at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, despite interest from

Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...

to sign him on professional terms. While at UCSB, Boateng played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

for the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of the ...

team. In his first year in 2012, he appeared in 18 games, scoring 4 goals and adding 4 assists.

Club career

Helsingborgs

During the summer of 2013, he played with

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

side

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

while still enrolled in college. He appeared in 5 games for the Fusion, scoring once. After receiving an invitation to train with Swedish Allsvenskan side

Helsingborgs IF Helsingborgs IF (full name Helsingborgs Idrottsförening), commonly referred to as HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, following promotion in the 2021 Superett ...

later that summer, Boateng paid for his own airplane ticket across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to be able to visit the club. He made a big impression and soon thereafter they signed him to a three-and-a-half-year contract in July 2013. He would appear in 37 Allsvenskan matches over his three seasons with the club, scoring 4 times in the league. He also helped the club reach the

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

final in 2014, scoring two goals in five appearances, and came on as a second-half substitute in the final itself; a 0–1 defeat to

IF Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Allsvenskan and have spent ...

on 18 May.

LA Galaxy

Boateng was transferred to LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer in January 2016. He made his debut against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

on 12 March 2016, where he replaced Mike Magee, but was unable to save the Galaxy from a 1–0 loss. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 April 2016 against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

, helping the Galaxy to a 5–2 victory, while also notching two assists. This performance earned him Player of the Week honors. Boateng scored his second goal of the season on 7 September, the first goal of a 3–3 draw at RSL. During the

2016 MLS Cup Playoffs The 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs (branded as the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for sponsorship reasons) began on October 26, and ended on December 10 with MLS Cup 2016, the 21st league championship match for MLS. This was the 21st version of the MLS Cup ...

, in LA's knockout round match against

, Boateng fouled

Javier Morales Javier Morales (born 10 January 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a midfielder. He currently serves as an academy coach at Inter Miami CF. Career Argentina From 1998 to 2006, Morales played for four different clubs in the A ...

, conceding a penalty which was successfully taken by Joao Plata to tie the game at 1. However, Boateng atoned for his mistake by scoring two goals within eight minutes, leading Galaxy to a 3–1 win. After the game, teammate Landon Donovan compared Boateng's first goal to

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

, saying that "he has that in him", while manager

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

described his performance as an "excellent, break out game". Boateng's contract with LA Galaxy concluded at the end of their 2018 season. Boateng re-signed with Galaxy on 14 January 2019.

D.C. United

On 7 August 2019, Boateng was traded to D.C. United in exchange for $250,000 of Targeted Allocation Money. He made his first appearance for DC United in a game against the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

on 17 August 2019, subbing in for Leonardo Jara in 67th minute. His 2020 option was exercised by D.C. United after the 2019 season.

Columbus Crew

On 14 August 2020, Boateng was traded to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in exchange for

Axel Sjöberg Axel Sjöberg (; born 8 March 1991) is a Swedish former footballer. Career Early career Sjöberg began his career with Helenelunds IK in his hometown at age four before moving to the academy of Djurgårdens IF, long-time member of the Al ...

, reuniting him with former LA Galaxy teammate

Gyasi Zardes Gyasi A. Zardes (born September 2, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Austin FC of Major League Soccer and the United States national team. Born in Hawthorne, California, Zardes was part of the LA Gala ...

. He made his debut on 20 August 2020, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 win over the Chicago Fire. He won the MLS Cup for being part of the squad even though he didn't play in the final match and was an unused substitute for the match. His team won by a 3–0 win through a

Lucas Zelarayán Lucas Manuel Zelarayán ( hy, Լուկաս Մանուել Զելարայան; born 20 June 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Argentina, he represents the ...

brace and a goal from

Derrick Etienne Derrick Burckley Etienne Jr. (born 25 November 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. Born in the United States, he represents the Haiti national team. Born in Richmond, Virgi ...

. That win was the teams first trophy since 2008. His fellow Ghanaian compatriots

Jonathan Mensah Jonathan Mensah (born 13 July 1990), commonly known simply as Jonathan, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. He previously played for Ashanti Gold, Free State Stars ...

and Harrison Afful played the full 90 minutes though. Columbus declined their contract option on Boateng following their 2020 season.

New England Revolution

On 7 January 2021, Boateng signed with

as a free agent. Following the 2022 season, New England opted to decline his contract option.

Personal life

His story was featured in ''The Beautiful Game'', a 2012 documentary about football in Africa, and on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

's report on the Right to Dream Academy. It was reported that Boateng received his U.S. citizenship in 2016. Outside of football, Boateng's ambition is to become a doctor. He speaks three languages.

Career statistics

Honors

Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

New England Revolution * Supporters' Shield:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* *
UC Santa Barbara player profile

Right to Dream Academy player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boateng, Emmanuel 1994 births Living people Association football forwards Association football midfielders Helsingborgs IF players LA Galaxy players D.C. United players Columbus Crew players New England Revolution players Allsvenskan players Major League Soccer players Ghanaian footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players People from Carpinteria, California Right to Dream Academy players Footballers from Accra Sportspeople from Santa Barbara County, California