Tayvon Howard Gray (born August 19, 2002) is a 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

right-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 ...

for

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 New York City FC. Born in the United States, he plays for the Jamaica national team.

Early life

Gray was born in The Bronx, New York. He attended high school in

Hackensack High School Hackensack High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hackensack Public Schools. Hackensack High School serves students from the Bergen County, New Jer ...

and Alexander Hamilton High School, while also playing club soccer at Soccer Domain FC Gunners. At just nine years old, Gray had trials with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. He later joined the Cedar Stars academy. In 2017, Gray joined the New York City FC academy. He is of Jamaican descent.

Professional career

New York City

On November 26, 2019, Gray signed as a homegrown player with

side New York City FC ahead of the 2020 season. This made him the first

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

native to play for New York City FC. He made the bench three times during the

2020 MLS season The 2020 Major League Soccer season was the 25th season of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on February 29, 2020, and was originally planned to end on October ...

but did not make an appearance. He made his professional debut on April 24, 2021, appearing as an 83rd-minute substitute during a 5–0 win over

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

. Gray consistently made the bench in the first part of the season and made his continental competition debut in a start in the quarterfinals of the

2021 Leagues Cup The 2021 Leagues Cup was the second edition of the Leagues Cup organized by Major League Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation. The tournament was originally planned to include sixteen teams but was later reduced to eight teams. The 2020 ...

, playing 88 minutes in the match that NYCFC lost on penalties to

UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...

. After

Anton Tinnerholm Anton Lars Tinnerholm (born 26 February 1991) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender. Career Åtvidabergs FF In his early years Tinnerholm played for local Östergötland clubs Brokinds IF and IK Östria Lambohov before ...

, NYCFC's starting right back, tore his achilles tendon in a match against

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

on October 10, Gray was able to establish himself as a consistent presence in the lineup. He ended the 2021 season with 10 appearances, 375 minutes, and one assist. He then went on to start in all four a NYCFC's playoff matches, playing every minute and recording an assist in their run to the

2021 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2021 was the 26th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) at the conclusion of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. The soccer match was played on December 11, 2021, at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, Unit ...

. Gray made his

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 ...

debut in NYCFC's first match of 2022, playing in a 2–0 win against

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n side

Santos de Guápiles Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) *Santos (DJ) (born 1971), Italian DJ * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos (footballer ...

International career

Gray has represented the

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 ...

at various youth levels. In September 2023, Gray was called up to the

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

senior national team for CONCACAF Nations League matches versus

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. He made his debut on September 8 against Honduras.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

New York City 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 ...

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 ...

Campeones Cup The Campeones Cup is an annual North American association football match contested between the winners of the previous MLS Cup from Major League Soccer and the winners of the Campeón de Campeones from Liga MX. The competition was established by ...

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 ...

References

External links

* *
Tayvon Gray
at New York City FC {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Tayvon 2002 births Living people Sportspeople from the Bronx Soccer players from New York City Jamaican men's footballers Jamaica men's international footballers American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players American sportspeople of Jamaican descent Men's association football defenders Homegrown Players (MLS) Major League Soccer players New York City FC players