Tesho Akindele (born March 31, 1992) is a Canadian former 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

Tesho Akindele was born in Canada to a Nigerian father and a Canadian mother and moved with his family to the US at the age of eight. He grew up in

Thornton, Colorado The City of Thornton is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, Adams and Weld County, Colorado, Weld List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. ...

, and was a standout for

Northglenn High School Northglenn High School is a public institution located in Northglenn, Colorado, United States. History Northglenn High School opened in 1965 as the first high school in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools. From 1965-2011 Northglenn High School was the ...

, turning down an offer to join the

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 ...

academy at the age of 17 to focus on academics. Akindele played four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines, informally called Mines, is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

, where he became the school's all-time goals leader with 76 goals scored and was a four-time All-American. He ranked second in the nation in goals scored in 2012 with 22 and was named a First Team NSCAA All-American and the 2012 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts. Also an NSCAA First Team All-American and the RMAC Freshman of the Year in 2010, Akindele was the first player in the history of his school's conference to score three consecutive hat tricks. Akindele also made a single appearance for

USL PDL USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

club

Real Colorado Foxes Real Colorado Foxes were an American soccer team based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, United States. Founded in 2008, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartland Divi ...

in 2013.

FC Dallas

On January 16, 2014, Akindele was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft by

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

, becoming the highest-highest-drafted

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

player in MLS history. Akindele made his professional debut in a 2–3 loss against

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 ...

on April 12, 2014. After scoring seven goals in 26 appearances, Akindele was named MLS Rookie of the Year.

Orlando City

On December 9, 2018, Dallas traded Akindele to Orlando City in exchange for $100,000 of Targeted Allocation Money in 2019 and $50,000 of General Allocation Money in 2020. He scored on his debut, a 2–2 draw in Orlando's season opener against

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 ...

. Akindele had his option for the 2020 season exercised by Orlando, keeping him with the club for 2020. On May 1, 2021, Akindele broke the record for the fastest goal scored in Orlando City history when he intercepted a backpass from

Nick Hagglund Nicholas Stuart Hagglund (born September 14, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. Career Xavier University Hagglund played four years of college soccer for th ...

to score the opener of a 3–0 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 ...

in 31 seconds, breaking the previous record of 63 seconds set by Chris Mueller in 2018. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Akindele's option for the 2022 season was picked up by Orlando. The club declined Akindele's contract option as part of the end of season roster moves on November 14, 2022. At the time of his departure he ranked second all-time in appearances for the club in all competitions with 121 behind only Chris Mueller and sixth for goals with 21. In December 2022, Akindele announced his retirement from professional soccer.

International career

Akindele attended a youth training camp of the Canadian youth national team in 2009 and played for Canada's U-17 national team in a friendly 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 ...

on April 2, 2009. On November 5, 2014, it was reported that Akindele had turned down a call-up from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with a view to represent 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 ...

instead, and on January 9, 2015, he was called up to the United States senior team camp ahead of friendly matches versus

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. He did not play in either friendly due to not having an American passport at the time of the friendlies. However, on April 14, 2015, Canada coach

Benito Floro Benito Floro Sanz (born 2 June 1952) is a Spanish football manager. Football career Floro was born in Gijón, Asturias. During his professional career he managed Albacete Balompié (two spells, starting off in 1989 in Segunda División B and le ...

told media that Akindele was "99.9 percent" going to represent Canada instead of the United States, and on June 2, Akindele accepted a call-up to the Canadian national team for two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. He made his debut for Canada against Dominica on June 11. He scored his first goal for Canada on June 16 in the return leg against Dominica at

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is home to Toronto FC of Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Constructed on the site of the former Exhibit ...

in a 4–0 victory. Akindele scored his second Canada goal in a 1–1 friendly draw in June 2016 with

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. Having been left out of the original 23-man squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Akindele was called-up by Canada at the quarter-final stage on July 23 as an injury replacement for

Ayo Akinola Ayomide Bamidele Akinola (born January 20, 2000) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Born in the United States and raised in Canada, he represents the Canada national team. Early li ...

. He appeared as a 70th-minute substitute against

as Canada progressed to the semi-finals with a 2–0 win.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''As of match played January 7, 2020. Canada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Akindele goal.''

Honours

Club

FC Dallas * Supporters' Shield:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* U.S. Open Cup:

Orlando City *U.S. Open Cup:

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 ...

Individual

* MLS Rookie of the Year: 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akindele, Tesho 1992 births Living people Canadian soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Colorado Mines Orediggers men's soccer players Real Colorado Foxes players FC Dallas players Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players Association football forwards Expatriate soccer players in the United States FC Dallas draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Soccer players from Calgary 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players People from Thornton, Colorado