Saad Abdul-Salaam (born September 8, 1991) is an American 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 as a defender for

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

in the

USL Championship 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 ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Abdul-Salaam grew up in Gahanna,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

where he played for the local high school side that won the state championship in 2009. Abdul-Salaam then went on to attend the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

where he played for the

Akron Zips Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pr ...

Sporting Kansas City

After his four-years at Akron, Abdul-Salaam was drafted as the twelfth overall pick during the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

. On May 19, 2015, Abdul-Salaam was recalled from his loan with the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

by Sporting Kansas City.

San Antonio Scorpions (loan)

On April 1, 2015, it was announced that Abdul-Salaam would be loaned out to the

for the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

spring season. He made his professional debut for the team on April 4 against the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. He started the match and played the full 90 as San Antonio fell 3–1.

Returning to Kansas City

He was called back on May 20, 2015. He was subbed on for Krisztian Nemeth in the 90th minute making his first MLS appearance. He finished the 2015 season starting 10 games and played 22 games and had 1 assist. In the playoffs he made the most iconic moment. In the penalty shoot out against the Portland Timbers, he had the chance to win it all but he instead hit both goal posts and the ball went out. In 2016, his sophomore season, he played in 30 games, scoring none but having 6 assists which was more assists than any other SKC player that season. In 2017 he scored his first professional goal in the team's 3–0 win against Minnesota United on June 21.

New York City

On December 14, 2017, it was announced that Abdul-Salaam was traded to

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 ...

in exchange for

Khiry Shelton Khiry Lamar Shelton (; born June 26, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. He has also represented the United States at the under-18 and under-23 levels. Club career C ...

. He was loaned to

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. History On March 13, 2014, Kyle Eng, owner of an advert ...

on August 13, 2018.

Seattle Sounders FC

On February 26, 2019, Abdul-Salaam's rights were traded to Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for $50,000 of Targeted Allocation Money. He was released by Seattle at the end of the 2019 season.

FC Cincinnati

On December 3, 2019, Abdul-Salaam was selected by

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...

in Stage Two of the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Process.

Columbus Crew

On April 17, 2021, Abdul-Salaam was selected off waivers by

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 ...

, who had been waived a few days earlier by Cincinnati following their acquisition of Edgar Castillo. Following the 2021 season, Columbus opted to decline their contract option on Abdul-Salaam.

San Antonio FC

On June 22 2022, San Antonio FC announced that they signed Abdul-Salaam for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Career statistics

Honors

Seattle Sounders FC *

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 Conference ...

: 2019 Columbus Crew * Campeones Cup:

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 ...

San Antonio FC

* USL Championship (regular season):

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 ...

* USL Championship Final:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul-Salaam, Saad 1991 births Living people African-American soccer players Akron Zips men's soccer players Portland Timbers U23s players Sporting Kansas City players San Antonio Scorpions players New York City FC players Phoenix Rising FC players Seattle Sounders FC players Tacoma Defiance players FC Cincinnati players Columbus Crew players San Antonio FC players Association football defenders Sporting Kansas City draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players American soccer players Soccer players from Ohio USL Championship players 21st-century African-American sportspeople