Shaqai Tyreece Steven Forde (born 5 May 2004) is an English 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 National League club York City, on loan from Watford of the .

Early life

Shaqai Tyreece Steven Forde was born on 5 May 2004 in Watford, Hertfordshire. He is the son of former footballer Fabian Forde and is of Barbadian descent through his father, who played for the Barbados national team.

Career

Forde started his career with Watford in 2012. He made his first-team debut on 8 January 2022 aged 17 as a 74th-minute substitute in a 4–1 away defeat to Leicester City in the

2021–22 FA Cup The 2021–22 FA Cup was the 141st season and marks the 150th anniversary of the first FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest Association football, football tournament in the world, started in the 1871–72 FA Cup, 1871–72 season. ...

third round. In February 2022, Forde joined Southern League Premier Division South club

Kings Langley Kings Langley is a village, former Manorialism, manor and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, north-west of Westminster in the historic centre of London and to the south of the Chiltern Hills. It now forms part o ...

on a one-month loan. He made his debut on 26 February in a 4–0 home win over

Wimborne Town Wimborne Town Football Club is a football club based in Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England. They were established in 1878 and won the FA Vase in 1992. They reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup in the 1982–83 season for the first t ...

in the league, in which he scored a goal 10 minutes into the match, won a penalty kick and recorded an assist. The loan was extended by a further month in March before Forde was recalled by Watford on 1 April to join first-team training, having scored two goals in three appearances for Kings Langley. A successful 2021–22 season saw him named Watford's Young Player of the Season before signing a professional contract with the club in July. Forde joined National League club York City on 28 December 2022 on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season. He scored in the 90th minute of his debut on 2 January 2023 with a shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal as York drew 2–2 away to

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, after entering the match as a 66th-minute substitute. Five days later, on his first start for the team, he scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

, helping York City to a 4–1 home win over

Maidstone United Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system. The current club filled the void left by the ol ...

Style of play

Forde plays as a

and in March 2022 described himself as being "creative, powerful and always looking to go forwards".

Career statistics

Honours

Individual * Watford Young Player of the Season: 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the York City F.C. website
Profile
at the Watford F.C. website {{DEFAULTSORT:Forde, Shaq 2004 births Living people Sportspeople from Watford Footballers from Hertfordshire English footballers Association football forwards Watford F.C. players Kings Langley F.C. players York City F.C. players Southern Football League players National League (English football) players English sportspeople of Barbadian descent Black British sportspeople