Rashid Sumaila facts for kids
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rashid Sumaila | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1992 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Cape Coast, Central region, Ghana | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Astronomers and Venomous Vipers | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Ebusua Dwarfs | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Asante Kotoko | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → Asante Kotoko (loan) | 13 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2015 | → Qadsia SC (loan) | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Qadsia SC | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | → Al-Gharafa (loan) | 21 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Red Star Belgrade (loan) | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Qadsia SC | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Saham | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2022-2023 | Muaither | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Ghana U20 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2011 | Ghana U23 | ||||||||||||
| 2012–2018 | Ghana | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 August 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 June 2018 |
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Rashid Sumaila (born 18 December 1992) is a professional Ghanaian footballer. He plays as a centre-back (a defender) and has also played for the Ghana national football team.
Rashid Sumaila won the 2011 Ghana Best Defender Award. This was at the end of the 2010–11 Ghana Premier League season.
Contents
Club Football Journey
Early Career in Ghana
Rashid Sumaila, also known as Rash, was born in Cape Coast. He started playing football in the junior teams of Astronomers. He was a very good player there.
In 2008, a Division 1 club called Venomous Vipers noticed him. They signed him for the 2008–2009 season. Rashid played with a lot of energy and was seen as a future star. People even compared him to famous defenders like Sergio Ramos.
His great performances caught the eye of bigger clubs. Soon, Ghana Premier League teams wanted to sign him. Ebusua Dwarfs signed him for the 2009–10 season. He then made his first senior team appearance in the 2010–11 Ghanaian Premier League season.
Playing for Asante Kotoko
In 2012, Asante Kotoko SC signed Rashid Sumaila from Ebusua Dwarfs. They were very happy to get him. He was a key player in their defense.
Rashid helped Asante Kotoko win the Ghana Premier League in the 2012–13 season. Fans loved his strong tackles and defending skills. He was known as "We got our man" because he made their defense so much better. A French club, RC Lens, also became interested in him.
Moving to Mamelodi Sundowns
Rashid Sumaila then joined Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. in South Africa. He had already won the league with Asante Kotoko.
He quickly became an important player for Mamelodi Sundowns. He played in almost every game. He helped them win the Premier Soccer League in the 2013–14 season.
Loan Back to Asante Kotoko The next season, Rashid went back to Asante Kotoko SC on a loan. However, the Ghana Premier League faced some delays. So, he returned to Mamelodi Sundowns F.C..
Time with Qadsia SC
Qadsia SC, a club in Kuwait, wanted to sign Rashid on loan. Since the Ghana league was on hold, he went to Kuwait. He signed a loan deal with an option for Qadsia to buy him later.
Rashid played very well for Qadsia. He helped them win the Kuwait Emir Cup in the 2014–15 season. Because of his hard work, he was named the Best Foreign Player in the Kuwait Premier League. He was also named the Best Player of Qadsia SC.
In the 2015-2016 season, Rashid Sumaila officially joined Qadsia SC permanently. He became a key central defender for the team. They had a great season and won the Kuwait Premier League title for 2015–16.
Loan to Al-Gharafa
Rashid Sumaila was a popular player in the Middle East. Al-Gharafa SC from Qatar managed to get him on a loan deal from Qadsia SC.
He brought a lot of passion and calm to the Al-Gharafa team. He was outstanding in the 2016–17 season. He was even voted the club's best player at the end of the season. Al-Gharafa wanted to sign him permanently, but Qadsia SC wanted him back. So, Rashid returned to Qadsia for the 2017–18 season.
Return to Qadsia SC and Red Star Belgrade
Rashid Sumaila returned to Qadsia SC for the 2017–2018 Kuwait Premier League season. He had one of his best seasons, defending well and scoring important goals. He also helped Qadsia win the 2017–2018 Kuwait Crown Prince Cup. They beat their rivals Kuwait SC in the final.
Rashid had always dreamed of playing in Europe. On 28 June 2018, he joined the Serbian club Red Star Belgrade on a one-year loan.
Playing for Ghana
Youth National Teams
Rashid Sumaila was part of the Ghana national under-20 football team. He played in the 2011 African Youth Championship. He was also a member of the Ghana national under-23 football team. This team won Ghana's first gold medal in football at the All-Africa Games in 2011. They beat South Africa national under-23 soccer team in a penalty shootout in Maputo, Mozambique.
Senior National Team
On 7 November 2011, Rashid Sumaila was called up to the Ghana national football team. He was part of the provisional squad for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. However, he was not in the final 23-man squad for the tournament.
Because of his good form at Mamelodi Sundowns F.C., coach Kwesi Appiah called him up for the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad. Ghana did not make it past the group stages in the World Cup. However, they were the only team that the champions, Germany national football team, could not beat. Ghana held Germany to a 2–2 draw, which was a memorable match.
Achievements and Awards
Rashid Sumaila has won several awards and trophies throughout his career:
Team Honours
- Asante Kotoko
- Ghana Premier League: 2012–13
- Mamelodi Sundowns
- Premier Soccer League: 2013–14
- Qadsia
- Kuwait Emir Cup: 2014–2015
- Kuwait Premier League: 2015–2016
- Kuwait Crown Prince Cup: 2017–2018
- Red Star Belgrade
- Serbian SuperLiga: 2018–19
- Ghana U23
- All-Africa Games Gold medal: 2011
Individual Awards
- Ghana Premier League Best Defender: 2010–11
- Ghana Premier League Best Defender: 2012–13
- Ghana MTN FA Cup Best Defender: 2012–2013
- Kuwait Premier League Best Foreign player: 2014–15
- Kuwait Premier League Best Defender: 2015–16
- Qadsia SC Best Player of the season: 2014–15
- Al-Gharafa SC Best Player of the season: 2016–17
See also
In Spanish: Rashid Sumaila para niños
