Sanna Nyassi (born 31 January 1989) is a Gambian 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

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 ...

. He played for the Gambia national team from 2010 to 2015, making fourteen appearances.

Club career

Gambia Ports Authority

Nyassi began his professional career in 2004 with

Gambia Ports Authority The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) is a government agency responsible for the governance and maintenance of the ports and port facilities of the Gambia, principally that of the Port of Banjul on the Gambia River. The GPA was founded in 1972 and it ...

of the GFA League First Division. The midfielder remained with the club through the 2007 season, helping the club capture the 2007 Gambian FA Cup, and scoring the game-winning goal in the final. Nyassi's play with the Gambian Under-20 National Team sparked interest among many

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 ...

clubs. In late 2007 Nyassi was on trial with

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 compet ...

, the club that signed his twin brother Sainey.

Seattle Sounders FC

Following a trial spell with newly formed

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, Sanna became the third player signed by the club. He was subsequently loaned to

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

for the remainder of the 2008 season, prior to

's MLS debut in 2009. On 5 October 2010 Nyassi scored two goals in the final of the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final to help Seattle to a 2–1 victory over

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 ...

and capture its second straight Cup title. He became the first player in modern history to score multiple goals in the Cup final and was named Player of The Round as a result.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC & Colorado Rapids

On 24 November 2010, Nyassi was selected by

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 ...

as their first pick in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft but he was immediately traded to

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, la ...

for an international roster slot. On 20 July in a match versus

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

, Nyassi scored his first MLS hat-trick and his first three goals for Colorado. His fourth goal of the season came on 29 July against

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 ...

. Strike partner

Omar Cummings Omar Cummings (born 13 July 1982) is a former Jamaican international footballer who played as a forward. He spent his entire professional career in the United States. Career Youth and amateur Cummings attended Jonathan Grant High School, Cinc ...

set up Nyassi with a lovely through ball and the Gambian scored with a curling shot to put his side 2–0 up.

Montreal Impact, Chicago Fire

Nyassi was left exposed by Colorado in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft and was selected by expansion side Montreal Impact. Nyassi spent 2 1/2 seasons with Montreal before being traded to Chicago Fire on 29 July 2014 in exchange for midfielder

Dilly Duka Dilaver "Dilly" Duka (born on September 15, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for FC Motown in the National Premier Soccer League. Career Youth and college Duka grew up in Montville, New Jersey, to an Alb ...

San Jose Earthquakes

Chicago cut ties with Nyassi at the conclusion of the 2014 season and he entered the 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft. In December 2014, Nyassi was selected by

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

in stage two of the draft.

Penang FA

In June 2017, Nyassi sign for Malaysian side

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

International career

Nyassi has represented his nation at various youth levels. He earned three caps playing for the Gambian U-17 national team in the 2005 African Under-17 Championship, scoring one goal against

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

. He also earned two caps for the U-20 national team in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2010, he made his debut for the full national team.

Personal life

Sanna is the twin brother of footballer

Sainey Nyassi Sainey Nyassi (born January 31, 1989) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Sainey Nyassi began his career in the Gambia, playing in the GFA League First Division for Gambia Ports Authority. Nyassi was sc ...

. Nyassi holds U.S. citizenship.

Career statistics

Honours

Gambia Ports Authority *

Gambian Championnat National D1 The GFA League First Division is the highest division of football in The Gambia. The league began play in 1965. 2021—22 season clubs Previous champions *1965–66 : Augustinians (Bathurst) *1966–67 : Augustinians (Bathurst) *1967–68 ...

(1): 2006 *

Gambian Cup The Gambian Cup is the top knockout tournament of the Gambian football. The current champion is Real Banjul who won their four title in 2019. The winner competes in the Gambian Super Cup and also qualifies into the CAF Confederation Cup each sea ...

(1): 2007 Seattle Sounders FC *

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

(2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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 ...

Montreal Impact * Canadian Championship (2):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Individual *Named MLS Humanitarian of the Month in April 2010 *MLS Player of the Week; for Week 19, 2011

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyassi, Sanna 1989 births Living people Gambian footballers The Gambia international footballers The Gambia youth international footballers Association football wingers Identical twins Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders FC players Colorado Rapids players CF Montréal players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Gambian twins USL First Division players Major League Soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer players in Canada Gambian expatriate footballers Gambian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Gambia Ports Authority FC players Penang F.C. players Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Expatriate footballers in Malaysia