Kwame Awuah (born December 2, 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.

Club career

Early career

Awuah played for the Club Uruguary Toronto,

Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays home g ...

, the Ontario provincial program and the

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

varsity boys soccer team, for which he was elected MVP. In 2013, he graduated from the

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 ...

Academy program. Awuah then played for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...

where he played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, a center midfielder, and a

left winger 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 ...

. He won many awards during his time there, including being selected to the American Athletic Conference First Team multiple times.

Sigma FC

In 2014, Awuah signed with his youth club,

, which had just joined

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1O) is a semi-professional men's association football, 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 ...

, where he played alongside

Cyle Larin Cyle Christopher Larin (; born April 17, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Belgian First Division A team Club Brugge and the Canada national team. After playing college soccer for the UConn Huskies, Lar ...

and

Richie Laryea Richmond Mamah Laryea ( ; Ga: ; born January 7, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a right-back or midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, on loan from Premier League club Nottingham Forest, and the Can ...

. In 2016, Awuah made six appearances for Sigma and was named to the

Western Conference All-Star Team.

New York City FC

Awuah was called up to the MLS Combine in 2017 and was subsequently drafted in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, sixteenth overall, by

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

. He signed a contract with the team on March 10. He then made his debut for New York on May 7, 2017 in a win against

Atlanta United FC 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 ...

. Upon conclusion of the 2017 season, New York City FC announced they would exercise Awuah's option for the 2018 season. After two seasons with New York City, Awuah was released at the end of the 2018 season.

Forge FC

On January 29, 2019, Awuah signed with

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 ...

club

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 ...

, reuniting with former coach

Bobby Smyrniotis Haralambos "Bobby" Smyrniotis (born April 24, 1979) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who works as head coach of Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League. Smyrniotis is the co-founder of the Sigma FC soccer academy based in Mississau ...

. In the 2019 Canadian Premier League season, Forge finished in second place in both the spring season and the fall season, qualifying for the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

where they faced

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club, is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches a ...

. Forge won 1-0 in both legs for a 2-0 aggregate victory, making them the first ever Canadian Premier League champions. Awuah had five assists throughout the season, tied for first in the league with five other players. He scored his first goal for the club on August 16, 2020 against

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

. 2020 was another successful year as Forge became CPL champions for the second time. Awuah again played a key part in Forge's 2021 campaign, gaining acclaim for his passing and defensive skills. However, Forge came just short of a third consecutive league championship, losing in the final to

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 2 ...

St. Louis City SC 2

In January 2022, Awuah trialed with

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 ...

club

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 Marc ...

. However, he did not end up signing with the club and instead later joined

St. Louis City SC 2 St Louis City SC 2, often shortened to St Louis City 2 or City2 (stylized as CITY2), is an American professional soccer team that is located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the reserve team of St. Louis City SC and participates in MLS Next Pro. T ...

for the team's inaugural season in the newly formed

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...

International career

Awuah was called up to the Canada U23s by new national team manager

Octavio Zambrano Octavio Zambrano Viera (born February 3, 1958) is an Ecuadorian football coach. He is a former player with international coaching experience. Zambrano has coached in North America, Latin America, and Europe. He holds a UEFA "A" diploma and a USS ...

in March 2017 for some friendlies. Zambrano then called him up to the senior team on May 6, 2017 for a camp and the provisional squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.Canada Soccer releases 40-man Provisional List for CONCACAF Gold Cup
CanadaSoccer

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- ...

References

External links

*
Connecticut Huskies profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Awuah, Kwame 1995 births Living people Association football midfielders Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Toronto Black Canadian soccer players Canadian people of Ghanaian descent Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States UConn Huskies men's soccer players New York City FC draft picks New York City FC players Forge FC players League1 Ontario players Major League Soccer players Canadian Premier League players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players Sigma FC players MLS Next Pro players