Zachary Joseph Eli Sukunda (born June 24, 1995) is a Canadian

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 for

Valour FC Valour Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home matches at IG Field. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned thro ...

in the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Early life

Sukunda was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He began playing youth soccer with Brockville SC, before moving on to

Ottawa South United Ottawa South United is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Manotick, Ontario, a community in the rural south part of Ottawa that plays in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec. The club previously competed in League1 Ontario. ...

and then to the Ottawa Fury Academy. He later played youth soccer with AS Hull. In 2011, after attending a scouting camp in Toronto, he was invited to trial and then play with the youth system of French club

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or simply Auxerre (), is a French football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division o ...

. In 2012, Sukunda joined the

Montreal Impact Academy Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Club career

In 2015, he began his senior career, signing with the Montreal Impact's second team

FC Montreal FC Montreal was a Canadian professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that played in the USL Championship, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. The team served as a reserve team of Major League Soccer (MLS) cl ...

in the

USL 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 ...

. He made his professional debut on April 18, 2015 against the

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

. He scored his first professional goal on June 21, 2016, in a 3-2 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders. After the 2016 season, the club ceased operation, resulting in Sekunda having to find a new club. In March 2017, Sukunda signed with Swedish

Division 1 Norra Ettan Fotboll, or simply Ettan ( en, the one), which also is its common name in everyday speech, is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 32 Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden ...

club

Umeå FC Umeå FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Umeå, Sweden. The club, formed in 1987, is currently playing in the third tier of the Swedish league, Ettan Fotboll. The club is affiliated to the Västerbottens Fotbollförbund. Seaso ...

. In December, he left the club. In December 2017, Sukunda signed with Australian club

Hume City FC Hume City Football Club is a semi-professional Australian football club based in Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume loc ...

of the

NPL Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the high ...

. In June 2018, Sukunda joined

Northcote City FC Northcote City Football Club (Iraklis) is a soccer club based on the border of Thornbury and Northcote, Victoria (Australia). Formed in 1960 by local Greek Australians, the club currently competes in the NPL Victoria 2. In 2011, Northcote w ...

. In November 2018, Sukunda was announced as the first ever signing for

HFX Wanderers FC HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of t ...

of the new

. After the 2019 season, the club declined his option for the 2020 season and despite interest from other CPL clubs, he sought a return to Europe instead. In December 2019, Sukunda signed with Finnish

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish for 'Number One'; sv, Ettan) is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga), although it is the highest league managed by the Football Association of Finland. The teams also play ...

side

Ekenäs IF Ekenäs Idrottsförening (abbreviated EIF or Ekenäs IF) is a sports club from Ekenäs, Raseborg in Finland. EIF was formed in 1905 and they are one of the oldest clubs in the south-west of Finland. The men's football first team currently pla ...

for the 2020 season. In February 2021, he signed with

PEPO Lappeenranta PEPO Lappeenranta (abbreviated PEPO) is a football club from Lappeenranta in Finland. The club was formed in 1958 and their home ground is at the Kimpinen Sports Centre. The men's first team currently plays in the Ykkönen (Second Division). ...

. After the 2021 season, he signed an extension for the 2022 season. In January 2023, Sukunda joined

Gnistan IF Gnistan (''The Spark'' in English) is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Ykkönen, the second tier of the Finnish league system. IF Gnistan play their home matches at Must ...

in Finland. He helped Gnistan reach second place in the table, however, they lost in the promotion playoff final, failing to earn promotion. In December 2023, he returned to the Canadian Premier League and signed with

, ahead of the 2024 season.

Personal life

Sukunda is the son of Eli Sukunda, a fencer who competed at the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sukunda, Zachary 1995 births Soccer players from Ottawa Franco-Ontarian people Living people Men's association football fullbacks Canadian men's soccer players AJ Auxerre players CF Montréal U23 players FC Montreal players Umeå FC players Hume City FC players Northcote City FC players HFX Wanderers FC players Ekenäs IF players PEPO Lappeenranta players IF Gnistan players Valour FC players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players USL Championship players Ettan Fotboll players Victorian Premier League players Canadian Premier League players Kakkonen players Ykkönen players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in France Canadian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Finland