Ifunanyachi Achara (born 28 September 1997) is a Nigerian 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 le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Early life

Achara was born in

Enugu, Nigeria Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

and grew up in the south east of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, where he lived until 2014 at the age of 17. He was noticed by former Nigerian national team player

Jay-Jay Okocha Augustine Azuka Okocha ( ; born 14 August 1973), commonly known as Jay-Jay Okocha, is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He played 73 times for the Nigeria national team between 1993 and 2006, scorin ...

who recommended him for the Nigerian U17 national team. He ultimately failed to make the roster for the team which won the

2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the sixteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in Chile from 17 October to 8 November 2015. Host selection The following four countries bid to host the tournament: * * * * Venues Along with proposing ...

. Afterwards, he moved to the United States, where he played youth soccer with Chicago Magic SC and won 2015 U-17 US National Youth Championship. He attended

Berkshire School Berkshire School is a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. History 1907–1943: Founding and early years Berkshire School (for boys) was established in 1907 at the foot of Mount Ever ...

in Sheffield, Massachusetts, where he was named to the High School All-America game Best XI, in his senior year. At Berkshire, he was on the soccer and track teams with his future

Black Rock FC Black Rock FC is an American soccer club that plays in USL League Two. The team's administrative base is in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. History The club was established in 2013 to develop Berkshire County players and prep school athletes ...

and

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

teammate

Jacob Shaffelburg Jacob Everett Shaffelburg (born November 26, 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC and the Canadian national team. Early life Shaffelburg played youth soccer for Valle ...

College career

After high school, Achara attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and played four seasons with the Hoyas in the Big East Conference of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. He was plagued by injuries throughout his four seasons causing him to miss several games each season. In his junior season, Achara was a First Team All-Big East honoree and a Second Team All-East Region selection. In 2019, he was named a team captain in his senior season, helping them win the 2019 NCAA title, which was the school's first national championship in its program history, and was named to the All-Big East Second Team. Over his four-year career with the Hoyas, he scored 21 goals and seven assists in 55 games.

Club career

GPS Portland Phoenix

Achara appeared for USL PDL side

GPS Portland Phoenix GPS Portland Phoenix was an American soccer team based in Portland, Maine. Founded in 2009, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. It has not played ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

where he scored six goals in eight matches and helped lead them to win the PDL Northeast Division.

Black Rock FC

While at Georgetown, Achara played with

USL League Two 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 syste ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

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 ...

where he served as the team captain for both seasons. He finished as the joint leading scorer for the team in 2018 with eight goals, tied with

, as the team won the PDL Northeast Division title. He was named to the PDL Eastern All-Star team in 2018. While at Black Rock, he was ranked as the #13 Top Prospect in USL League Two.

Toronto FC

Achara was selected 25th overall in the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 ...

. After an impressive showing in pre-season, he was signed to the first team on 21 February 2020. Achara made his debut on 7 March 2020, during Toronto FC's season home opener. Achara supplied a man of the match performance. He appeared to score the opening goal in the 11th minute, however the goal would be ruled off-side in a

VAR Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

decision. Achara went on to score the only goal of the game in the 81st minute as Toronto beat New York City FC 1–0. During the training camp for the MLS is Back Tournament, following the league stoppage due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Achara tore his ACL, after getting tangled up with teammate Omar Gonzalez during a drill, ending his rookie season after only playing one game. After his extended injury absence, he returned to the lineup on August 4, 2021 as a substitute against 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 ...

, 17 months after his last appearance. Achara scored his first goal of the 2021 MLS season and the first since recovering from his ACL injury against CF Montreal August 27, 2021. On December 1, Toronto announced they had picked up Achara's contract option, keeping him with the club for the 2022 MLS season. After the end of the 2022 season, he departed the club, after the club declined his option for 2023.

Houston Dynamo

In the

2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft The 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft was conducted in two stages, as it has been in previous years. Stage 1 took place on November 17, 2022, and Stage 2 took place on November 22, 2022. All 28 existing Major League Soccer club and its newest expansion cl ...

, he was selected in the second stage by the

. On 7 December 2022, Achara signed with the Dynamo for their 2023 season, with a club option to extend his stay for 2024.

Personal life

His family still lives in Engu, Nigeria, while his younger brother, Ugo Achara Jr., has a soccer scholarship to

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he is part of the soccer program. In June 2020, following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

during the

by four member of the

Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesot ...

, he spoke out about racism, which he was not aware of until he went to 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 territorie ...

, noting that the way one is treated there boils down to skin colour, and it's sad that is still an issue in society. In October 2020, he started a campaign to raise money for the End SARS campaign to disband the Nigerian

Special Anti-Robbery Squad The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a Nigerian Police Force unit created in late 1992 to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. It was part of the Force Criminal Investiga ...

that has a long history of committing abuses.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

GPS Portland Phoenix * PDL Northeast Division winners:

Black Rock FC * PDL Northeast Division winners:

Toronto FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

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- ...

References

External links

Ifunanyachi Achara Georgetown profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Achara, Ifunanyachi 1997 births Living people Men's association football forwards Berkshire School alumni End SARS activists Footballers from Enugu Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian men's footballers Georgetown Hoyas men's soccer players GPS Portland Phoenix players Houston Dynamo FC players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Massachusetts Toronto FC draft picks Toronto FC players USL Championship players USL League Two players