Kwasi Poku

Kwasi Poku (born February 6, 2003) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Forge FC.

Kwasi Poku
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-02-06) February 6, 2003
Place of birth Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Forge FC
Number 20
Youth career
Brampton East SC
Woodbridge Strikers
Unionville Milliken SC
Toronto FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Toronto FC III 4 (0)
2021 Toronto FC II 1 (0)
2022– Forge FC 21 (1)
2023– → Sigma FC (loan) 1 (0)
International career‡
2022– Canada U20 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 29, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 26, 2022

Early life

Poku began playing youth soccer at age six with Brampton East SC.[1] He later played youth soccer with the Woodbridge Strikers, with whom he won the 2017 U14 Ontario Indoor Cup, scoring a hat-trick against Ottawa St. Anthony.[2] He was also part of the provincial Team Ontario that year.[3] He later played for Unionville Milliken SC.[4] He later joined the Toronto FC Academy.[5]

Club career

In 2021, he played with Toronto FC III in the League1 Ontario Summer Championship division making his debut on July 31 against Alliance United.[6] After the season, he joined the second team Toronto FC II in USL League One. He made his debut on October 1, 2021 against North Carolina FC.[7]

In February 2022, he signed a professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.[8] He made his debut for his new club on February 16 in a 2022 CONCACAF Champions League match against Cruz Azul.[9][10] Poku scored his first goal on October 9, 2022 in a 1-0 victory over HFX Wanderers FC.[11] In January 2023, Poku went on trial with Swedish Allsvenskan club BK Häcken.[12] In 2023, he spent some time on loan with Forge's affiliate Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[13]

International career

Born in Canada, Poku is of Ghanaian descent.[14] In April 2022, he was called up to the Canadian Under-20 team for two matches against Costa Rica.[15] In June 2022, he was named to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[16]

Career statistics
As of April 29, 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Toronto FC III 2021[6] League1 Ontario Summer Championship 40–––40
Toronto FC II 2021 USL League One 10—––10
Forge FC 2022 Canadian Premier League 191103[lower-alpha 1]020251
2023 200010—30
Total 211104020281
Sigma FC (loan) 2023[13] League1 Ontario 10–––10
Career total 271104020341
  1. Includes appearance in the 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022)

References
  1. Kwasi Poku at the Canadian Soccer Association
  2. "Kwasi Poku Leads Woodbridge Strikers to U-14 Boys Ontario Indoor Cup Title". Ontario Soccer Association. January 26, 2017.
  3. "Team Ontario U14 Boys" (PDF). Ontario Soccer Association.
  4. Motta Silva, Nicolas (November 16, 2018). "BMO Champions CUP: Day One and Two Recap". Toronto FC.
  5. "Forge FC signs ex-HFX midfielder Sissoko, local product Poku". Canadian Premier League. February 2, 2022.
  6. "Kwasi Poku 2021 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  7. Martin, Hannah (October 1, 2021). "Match Recap: North Carolina FC Fall to Toronto FC II on the Road". North Carolina FC.
  8. "Forge FC Sign Midfielders Sissoko & Poku". Forge FC. February 2, 2022.
  9. "Brampton's Kwasi Poku impresses despite Forge loss". Brampton Soccer. February 17, 2022.
  10. Urciuoli, Anthony (August 11, 2022). "'Ready for a little bit of everything:' Kwasi Poku makes big strides in first pro season". Forge FC.
  11. Myrer, George (October 9, 2022). "HFX Wanderers' disappointing season comes to a close with loss to Forge". SaltWire Network.
  12. Jacques, John (January 17, 2023). "Forge's Poku On Trial With BK Hacken". Northern Tribune.
  13. "Kwasi Poku 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  14. "Canadian-born Ghanaian youngster Kwasi Poku on trials at BK Häcken". Kick GH. January 17, 2023.
  15. "Bontis & Poku called up to the men's U20 national team camp in Costa Rica". Forge FC. April 5, 2022.
  16. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 10, 2022). "6 CPLers named to Canada squad for Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship". Canadian Premier League.
  17. Kwasi Poku at Soccerway
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