Charles "CJ" Nana Kwabena Sapong (; born December 27, 1988) is an American 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 who plays as a forward 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 Cana ...

club

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

. Born in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

, Sapong was part of the D.C. United youth academy before playing

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 Ki ...

for the

James Madison Dukes The James Madison Dukes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. The Dukes play as me ...

. After playing four seasons with James Madison, Sapong was drafted in the first round of the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

as the 11th overall pick. After his debut professional season, Sapong was named the

MLS Rookie of the Year The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22. The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no ...

for

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, Sapong won his first championship, helping Kansas City win the U.S. Open Cup. He then was part of the side that won

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 Conferen ...

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 fa ...

. Prior to the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

season, Sapong was traded to the

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 2010 ...

. He played for the Union for three seasons, converting from a winger to a forward, before being traded to the Chicago Fire in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Sapong has also 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

internationally, earning four caps between 2012 and 2018.

Playing career

College

Sapong played college soccer at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

, where he ended his career with 37 goals and 21 assists in four seasons from 2007–2010. He was awarded First Team All-Conference and team Offensive MVP honors all four years, a first in program history, and was the CAA Player of the Year as a senior co-captain in 2010. Sapong was a two-time NSCAA First Team All-South Atlantic Region selection. As a freshman, he was named the CAA and VaSID Rookie of the Year and chosen to the Third Team All-South Atlantic Region. Sapong made eight appearances for

Fredericksburg Gunners Fredericksburg Gunners was an American soccer team based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after ...

in the

USL Premier Development League 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 syst ...

in 2009, and made eleven appearances and scored four goals for Reading United during their 2010 PDL season.

Club

Sporting Kansas City

On January 14, 2011, Sapong was drafted #10 overall in the

. He signed with the club on March 1, 2011. He made his professional debut on March 19, in Kansas City's opening game of the 2011 MLS season against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

; he scored his first professional goal after just two minutes of the game, helping his team to a 3–2 victory. Sapong was awarded the

MLS Rookie of the Year Award The MLS Young Player of the Year Award (known as the Rookie of the Year Award from 1996 to 2019) is an annual award given to the top player in Major League Soccer under the age of 22. The award was initially awarded to a rookie, or a player who no ...

for 2011, edging out

Perry Kitchen Perry Allen Kitchen (born February 29, 1992) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. He was part of the Akron Zips side that won the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, and was a first ...

and

Michael Farfan Michael Farfán Stopani (born June 23, 1988) is an American former soccer player. Career Youth and College Played youth club soccer in Southern California where he captured numerous team titles, including the 2002 national championship. He als ...

, who finished second and third, respectively.

Orlando City

Sapong was loaned to

USL Pro 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, pl ...

's Orlando City in July 2013. On July 18, only a week after being loaned to Orlando, Sapong was recalled by Sporting Kansas City. In total, Sapong scored one goal in three matches while tallying one assist.

Philadelphia Union

On December 8, 2014, Sapong was traded by Kansas City to

in exchange for a first-round pick in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Janua ...

. After several seasons of being deployed on the wing with Kansas City, Sapong was positioned as the Union's lone center forward, taking advantage of his strength and hold-up play. He led the Union in goals during the 2015 season (with 9) and would build on those totals in subsequent seasons. He scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

in Philadelphia's 3–0 victory over the

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 ...

at Talen Energy Stadium on May 6, 2017. On October 22, 2017, Sapong broke the Union's (and his own) single-season scoring record, previously held by Sebastian Le Toux (14 goals during the 2010 season). At home against Orlando City, on the final day of the season, Sapong scored his fifteenth and sixteenth goals for the record.

Chicago Fire

On February 23, 2019, Sapong was traded by Philadelphia to Chicago Fire in exchange for up to $450,000 in Allocation Money. The specifics of the Allocation Money are as follows: $200,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money, $100,000 in 2020 Targeted Allocation Money, and an additional $100,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money to be conveyed to Philadelphia should the Chicago Fire acquire said funds this year. If the Fire do not acquire an additional $100,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money to convey to Philadelphia this season, then that money conveys as GAM in 2020, and the Union also receive $50,000 in 2020 Targeted Allocation Money from Chicago should Sapong hit certain performance incentives in 2019. Sapong's contract with the club expired at the end of the 2020 season.

Nashville SC

On February 10, 2021, Sapong signed as a free agent with Nashville SC.

Toronto FC

On April 25, 2023, Sapong was traded to Toronto FC for

Lukas MacNaughton Lukas Michael MacNaughton (born March 8, 1995) is a professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Born in the United States and raised in Belgium, he represents Canada at international level. E ...

and up to $200,000 of general allocation money.

International

On January 21, 2012, Sapong made his debut for the senior side of the United States (as a second-half substitute) in the 1–0 win over

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. On November 14, 2017, Sapong made his first start for the United States in a friendly against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, notching an assist with an incisive pass to Weston McKennie.

Personal life

Born in the United States, Sapong is of Ghanaian descent. On February 23, 2017, Sapong helped launch the Sacred Seeds foundation, which promotes and enhances the growth of underserved communities through sustenance and self-sustainability. He was inspired by his own experiences recovering from injuries during his soccer career and being reluctant to rely on painkillers rather than more nutritional methods. On May 1, 2015, Sapong was arrested for DUI and reckless driving. He was found not guilty of the DUI charge but still faced the reckless driving charge and was still forced to have attended an MLS league-mandated stint at a treatment facility in Malibu, California. Sapong has credited the experience with having "changed islife."

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Sporting Kansas City *

* U.S. Open Cup:

Individual *

References

External links

* * * *
Sacred Seeds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapong, CJ 1988 births Living people American soccer players African-American men's soccer players James Madison Dukes men's soccer players Fredericksburg Gunners players Reading United AC players Sporting Kansas City players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Philadelphia Union players Chicago Fire FC players Nashville SC players Toronto FC players American people of Ghanaian descent People from Manassas, Virginia Soccer players from Virginia Sporting Kansas City draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players United States men's international soccer players Men's association football forwards 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people