Tesho Akindele facts for kids
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Akindele with Canada in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tesho Akindele | ||
| Date of birth | March 31, 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, winger | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Des Moines Menace | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2013 | Colorado Mines Orediggers | 83 | (76) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013 | Real Colorado Foxes | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2018 | FC Dallas | 133 | (24) |
| 2019–2022 | Orlando City SC | 104 | (19) |
| 2022 | → Orlando City B (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| 2024– | Des Moines Menace | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 139 | (44) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009 | Canada U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2015–2021 | Canada | 19 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 3, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 12, 2022 |
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Tesho Akindele, born on March 31, 1992, is a former professional soccer player from Canada and the United States. He played most of his career in Major League Soccer (MLS) for teams like FC Dallas and Orlando City SC. Tesho was known for playing as a forward or a winger.
Contents
Tesho Akindele's Soccer Journey
Starting Out in Soccer
Tesho Akindele was born in Canada. His father was from Nigeria, and his mother was Canadian. When he was eight years old, his family moved to the United States. He grew up in Thornton, Colorado.
Tesho was a great player at Northglenn High School. He even turned down a chance to join the Colorado Rapids youth academy when he was 17. He wanted to focus on his schoolwork instead.
College Soccer Success
Akindele played college soccer for four years at the Colorado School of Mines. He became the best goal scorer in the school's history, with 76 goals! He was named an All-American four times.
In 2012, he scored 22 goals, which was the second-highest in the whole country. He was also named the Offensive Player of the Year for his conference. Tesho was the first player in his school's conference to score three "hat tricks" (three goals in one game) in a row.
Before joining a big team, Akindele also played one game for a club called Real Colorado Foxes in 2013.
Playing for FC Dallas
On January 16, 2014, FC Dallas chose Tesho Akindele in the MLS SuperDraft. He was the sixth player picked overall. This made him the highest-drafted player ever from his college division in MLS history.
Tesho played his first professional game on April 12, 2014. He scored seven goals in 26 games during his first season. Because of his great start, Tesho Akindele was named the MLS Rookie of the Year.
Time with Orlando City
On December 9, 2018, FC Dallas traded Akindele to Orlando City SC. He scored a goal in his very first game for Orlando City, which was a 2-2 tie against New York City FC.
On May 1, 2021, Tesho scored the fastest goal in Orlando City's history at that time. He stole the ball and scored just 31 seconds into the game! This helped Orlando City win 3-0 against FC Cincinnati.
Tesho played for Orlando City until November 2022. When he left, he was second in the club's history for most games played (121) and sixth for most goals scored (21). In December 2022, Tesho Akindele announced that he was retiring from professional soccer.
Playing for Des Moines Menace
In April 2024, Tesho Akindele joined Des Moines Menace. He played for them in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.
Playing for His Country
Tesho Akindele has played for the Canadian national soccer team. In 2009, he played for Canada's Under-17 team in a friendly game against Costa Rica.
In 2014, he was asked to play for the Canadian senior team but initially considered playing for the United States. However, in April 2015, Canada's coach said Tesho would "99.9 percent" play for Canada.
Tesho accepted the call-up to the Canadian national team in June 2015. He made his debut for Canada on June 11 against Dominica. He scored his first goal for Canada on June 16 in the return game against Dominica, helping Canada win 4-0. He scored his second goal for Canada in June 2016 in a 1-1 friendly game against Azerbaijan.
In July 2021, Tesho was called up to play for Canada in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He helped Canada reach the semi-finals.
Tesho Akindele's Life Off the Field
Tesho Akindele is married to Taylor, who is an accountant. They have two children. Tesho has a college degree in engineering and a master's degree in finance.
He is also interested in making cities better places to live. He supports ideas like mixed-use development (buildings that have both homes and shops) and affordable housing. He often shares his ideas on social media.
Career Statistics
Club Performance
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Real Colorado Foxes | USL PDL | 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| FC Dallas | MLS | 2014 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 9 | ||
| 2015 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 6 | ||||
| 2016 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 41 | 7 | |||
| 2017 | 29 | 4 | — | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 36 | 4 | ||||
| 2018 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 3 | |||
| Total | 132 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163 | 29 | ||
| Orlando City SC | MLS | 2019 | 28 | 10 | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 11 | |||
| 2020 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | 23 | 4 | ||||
| 2021 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 34 | 3 | ||||
| 2022 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 104 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 121 | 21 | ||
| Orlando City B (loan) | MLS Next Pro | 2022 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Career statistics | 238 | 44 | 14 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 286 | 51 | ||
International Performance
| Canada national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 7 | 1 |
| 2016 | 6 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 19 | 3 |
International Goals for Canada
- As of match played January 7, 2020. Canada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Akindele goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 16, 2015 | BMO Field, Toronto, Canada | 2 |  Dominica |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | June 3, 2016 | Stadion Rohrbach, Rohrbach an der Lafnitz, Austria | 11 |  Azerbaijan |
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | January 7, 2020 | Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine, United States | 15 |  Barbados |
2–0 | 4–1 |
Awards and Achievements
Team Awards
FC Dallas
- Supporters' Shield: 2016 (This award goes to the team with the best regular season record in MLS)
- U.S. Open Cup: 2016 (A knockout cup competition for American soccer teams)
Orlando City
- U.S. Open Cup: 2022
Individual Awards
- MLS Rookie of the Year: 2014 (Award for the best first-year player in MLS)
See also
In Spanish: Tesho Akindele para niños
