Elvir "Fufi" Kafedžić (born 19 December 1981) is a Bosnian-American

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 lea ...

Youth and college soccer

Kafedžić grew up in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in the aftermath of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, before his family immigrated to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany in the early 1990s. In 1999, Kafedžić and his family moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where he attended Affton High School for one year. He subsequently played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1832 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution wes ...

, where he was part of the Lions team that won 2004 NAIA National Championship. During his college years he also played with the St. Louis Strikers in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

Professional playing career

Kafedžić has extensive professional indoor soccer experience. He played with the

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...

, Chicago Storm and

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

, and was a member of US national

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

team that traveled to play in tournaments in Brazil and Spain in 2007. Kafedžić signed his first professional outdoor contract in 2010 when he was signed by

AC St. Louis AC St. Louis was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in December 2009, the team played its first and only season the next year in the NASL Conference of the temporary USSF D2 Pro League, the ...

of the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

Coaching

In 2013, Kafedžić founded the St. Louis Dragons youth program. Kafedžić became a coach in the

St. Louis City SC St. Louis City Soccer Club (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in St. Louis. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Con ...

academy in 2021.

References

External links

AC St. Louis bio

California Cougars bio
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kafedzic, Elvir 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Foča Footballers from Foča Region Men's association football forwards Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen St. Louis Strikers players St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006) players Chicago Storm players California Cougars players St. Louis Illusion players AC St. Louis players Illinois Piasa Rockford Rampage players St. Louis Ambush (2013–) players Major Arena Soccer League players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in the United States St. Louis City SC non-playing staff