Kofi Opare (born October 12, 1990) is a Ghanaian

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 defender. He has previously appeared for Michigan Bucks, Detroit City,

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

, and Colorado Rapids.

Early life

Opare was born on October 12, 1990, in Mampong, Ghana. His family lived in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.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 ...

before settling in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

, Canada.

Career

College and amateur

After spending his youth career with St. Catharines Concord Gunners, Opare committed to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

on March 4, 2009, where he would spend all four years of his college career. In his freshman year with the Wolverines, Opare made 14 appearances and scored his first collegiate goal on September 11 in a 3–0 victory over

Wright State Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

. He also went on to be named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, he made 25 appearances and helped lead Michigan to the College Cup semi-final where they would fall 2–1 to the eventual champion Akron Zips. In 2011, Opare started all 20 games for the Wolverines and finished the year with two goals and one assist and was also named All-Big Ten Second Team. In his final season with Michigan, Opare made 17 appearances and finished the year with three goals. During his time in college, Opare also played for Michigan Bucks in the

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 syste ...

and for Detroit City in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

Professional

On January 17, 2013, Opare was selected in the second round (24th overall) of the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draft, ...

by Los Angeles Galaxy. He signed his first professional contract with the club on March 11. On August 20, Opare made his professional debut for the club in a 2–0 victory over Costa Rican side Cartaginés in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

. Opare was traded to

in July 2014 with a second-round pick in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth 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 2015 convention was held Januar ...

in exchange for a swap in places in the MLS allocation order. He scored his first goal for United on May 13, 2015, against Orlando City. Opare stayed with D.C. through the 2018 season, at which time the club declined his 2019 contract option. On February 25, 2019, Opare joined Colorado Rapids. His contract option was declined by the Rapids for the 2020 season.

International

Opare was called up to a training camp in Trinidad and Tobago with the U.S. U-20 national team by Thomas Rongen in January 2009 ahead of the

2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship was the biannual CONCACAF youth championship tournament for under-20 national teams. The 2009 edition was held in Trinidad and Tobago. All matches were played at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago and Mar ...

. During the camp, the U.S played against the Trinidad U-17 team. However, the then 18-year-old Opare was not called up to CONCACAF U-20 Championship roster as he was not eligible to play. In May 2008

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

had updated their regulations with immediate effect and required that players reside "continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association" to become eligible to play for a national team in a competitive game. It was a measure put in place by FIFA to prevent countries offering citizenship to talented footballers and allowing them to play for the national team immediately despite not having any ties to the country. The change in regulations meant that despite living in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

for four years as a teenager, Opare would not be eligible to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

irrespective of holding citizenship unless he lives there for five years after the age of 18, Opare could however represent

U.S. 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in competitive football as he meets those requirements for the U.S. Opare is also eligible to play for

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 ...

, the nation where he was born.

Personal

Opare holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
University of Michigan bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opare, Kofi Living people 1990 births Ghanaian footballers People from Ashanti Region Ghanaian emigrants to Canada Association football defenders Michigan Wolverines men's soccer players Flint City Bucks players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy players LA Galaxy II players D.C. United players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players USL League Two players National Premier Soccer League players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States