Ayo Akinola facts for kids
Akinola with the United States U20 in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ayomide Bamidele Akinola | ||
| Birth name | Grant Jesus-Sultan-Akinola Ogundimu | ||
| Date of birth | January 20, 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, United States | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Wil | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2014 | Brampton East SC | ||
| 2015–2017 | Toronto FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | Toronto FC II | 10 | (2) |
| 2018–2024 | Toronto FC | 83 | (15) |
| 2018–2023 | → Toronto FC II (loan) | 25 | (6) |
| 2023 | → San Jose Earthquakes (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2024– | Wil | 31 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | United States U15 | 7 | (5) |
| 2015–2017 | United States U17 | 32 | (24) |
| 2018–2019 | United States U20 | 12 | (9) |
| 2020 | United States | 1 | (1) |
| 2021– | Canada | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of February 28, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 28, 2023 |
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Ayomide Bamidele Akinola, born on January 20, 2000, is a professional soccer player. He plays as a forward for Swiss Challenge League club Wil. Ayo was born in the United States. He has played for the Canadian national team.
Contents
Early Life and Soccer Start
Akinola was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the United States. In 2005, he moved to Brampton, Ontario, in Canada. As a teenager, he joined the TFC Academy. This is a special training program for young soccer players. He finished high school in 2018.
Club Soccer Career
Playing for Toronto FC II
Akinola joined the Toronto FC II team in 2016. This team is a step below the main Toronto FC team. On June 15, 2016, he played his first game. He came in as a substitute in a 1–1 draw. A week later, he started his first game. On July 11, he scored two goals in one game. He ended the season with two goals in 10 games.
In November 2017, Akinola had a tryout with PSV Eindhoven. This is a well-known club in the Netherlands.
Joining Toronto FC
On December 18, 2017, Akinola signed with Major League Soccer team Toronto FC. He was signed as a "homegrown player." This means he came up through their youth academy. He was the 15th player from the TFC Academy to join the main team. On March 17, 2019, he scored his first goal in MLS. This was during Toronto FC's first home game of the season.
Akinola scored two more MLS goals on July 13, 2020. This was during a special tournament called the MLS is Back Tournament. He then scored three goals in one game against the Montreal Impact. He was one of Toronto's top scorers in 2020, with 9 goals.
In July 2021, Akinola got a serious knee injury (an ACL injury). This happened while he was playing for Canada. The injury meant he missed the rest of the 2021 season. In January 2022, he signed a new contract with Toronto FC.
In July 2023, he was loaned to another MLS team, the San Jose Earthquakes. He played for them for the rest of the 2023 season. In May 2024, he left Toronto FC.
Moving to Wil
In July 2024, Akinola signed a one-year contract with Wil. This club plays in the Swiss Challenge League in Switzerland.
International Soccer Career
Akinola could play for three different countries. He could play for the United States because he was born there. He could play for Canada because he lived there. He could also play for Nigeria because of his family background. He said he would decide which country was best for him.
Playing for the United States
In April 2015, Akinola played his first international game for the United States U15 team. He scored four goals in his second game against Croatia. He also scored in his last game for the U15 team.
In December 2015, he joined the United States U17 squad. He scored his first goal against Brazil in March 2016. A few days later, he scored two goals against Russia. In October 2017, Akinola scored the only goal in a big game. This was against Ghana at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India.
He was called up to the U.S. senior team in December 2020. He scored a goal in his first game for the U.S. against El Salvador. After scoring, he showed support for the racial equality movement.
Playing for Canada
Akinola was invited to a Canada training camp in January 2021. He later joined the Canadian team for World Cup qualifying matches. On June 30, 2021, he officially chose to play for Canada. He was then named to Canada's team for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Akinola played his first game for Canada on July 15, 2021, against Haiti. In his second game for Canada, he played against his former country, the United States. During this game, he got a serious knee injury (ACL rupture). This injury meant he could not play for the rest of the tournament. It also kept him out for the rest of the 2021 club season with Toronto FC.
Personal Life
Ayo has a younger brother named Tom. Tom is also a soccer player. He was part of the TFC Academy too.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toronto FC II | 2016 | United Soccer League | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Toronto FC | 2018 | Major League Soccer | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | ||||
| 2020 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 9 | |||||
| 2021 | 11 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 3 | |||||
| 2022 | 26 | 2 | — | 4 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 4 | |||||
| 2023 | 14 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 83 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 18 | ||
| Toronto FC II (loan) | 2018 | United Soccer League | 16 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 5 | ||||
| 2019 | USL League One | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||||
| 2023 | MLS Next Pro | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 25 | 6 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 6 | ||||||
| San Jose Earthquakes (loan) | 2023 | Major League Soccer | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| FC Wil | 2024–25 | Swiss Challenge League | 23 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 7 |
| Career total | 145 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 160 | 31 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2020 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | |
| Canada | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 0 | |
| Career total | 5 | 0 | |
- As of match played December 9, 2020. Akinola's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Akinola goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Team | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 9, 2020 | Inter Miami CF Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States |  United States |
 El Salvador |
5–0 | 6–0 | Friendly |
Awards and Achievements
Toronto FC
- Canadian Championship: 2020
United States U20
- CONCACAF U-20 Championship: 2018
Individual
- CONCACAF Under-20 Championship Best XI: 2018
See also
In Spanish: Ayo Akinola para niños
