.jpg) Akindele withCanada in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tesho Akindele[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-03-31)March 31, 1992 (age 32)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Calgary,Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||
| 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 | |||
Tesho Akindele (born March 31, 1992) is a Canadian and American[4] former professionalsoccer player. He spent most of his career withFC Dallas andOrlando City SC inMajor League Soccer (MLS).
Tesho Akindele was born in Canada to a Nigerian father and a Canadian mother and moved with his family to the US at the age of eight.[5] He grew up inThornton, Colorado, and was a standout forNorthglenn High School, turning down an offer to join theColorado Rapids academy at the age of 17 to focus on academics.[6]
Akindele played four years ofcollege soccer at theColorado School of Mines, where he became the school's all-time goals leader with 76 goals scored and was a four-time All-American. He ranked second in the nation in goals scored in 2012 with 22 and was named a First Team NSCAA All-American and the 2012 RMAC Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts. Also an NSCAA First Team All-American and the RMAC Freshman of the Year in 2010, Akindele was the first player in the history of his school's conference to score three consecutive hat tricks.[7]
Akindele also made a single appearance forUSL PDL clubReal Colorado Foxes in 2013.[8]
On January 16, 2014, Akindele was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the2014 MLS SuperDraft byFC Dallas,[9] becoming the highest-highest-draftedNCAA Division II player in MLS history. Akindele made his professional debut in a 2–3 loss againstSeattle Sounders FC on April 12, 2014.[10] After scoring seven goals in 26 appearances, Akindele was namedMLS Rookie of the Year.[11]
On December 9, 2018, Dallas traded Akindele to Orlando City in exchange for $100,000 of Targeted Allocation Money in 2019 and $50,000 of General Allocation Money in 2020.[12] He scored on his debut, a 2–2 draw in Orlando's season opener againstNew York City FC. Akindele had his option for the2020 season exercised by Orlando, keeping him with the club for 2020.[13] On May 1, 2021, Akindele broke the record for the fastest goal scored in Orlando City history at the time when he intercepted a backpass fromNick Hagglund to score the opener of a 3–0 win overFC Cincinnati in 31 seconds, breaking the previous record of 63 seconds set byChris Mueller in 2018.[14] Upon completion of the 2021 season, Akindele's option for the 2022 season was picked up by Orlando.[15] The club declined Akindele's contract option as part of the end of season roster moves on November 14, 2022. At the time of his departure he ranked second all-time in appearances for the club in all competitions with 121 behind onlyChris Mueller and sixth for goals with 21.[16]
In December 2022, Akindele announced his retirement from professional soccer.[17]
In April 2024, Akindele joinedDes Moines Menace ahead of the2024 U.S. Open Cup second round match.[18]
Akindele attended a youth training camp of the Canadian youth national team in 2009[19] and played for Canada's U-17 national team in afriendly againstCosta Rica on April 2, 2009.[20] On November 5, 2014, it was reported that Akindele had turned down a call-up fromCanada with a view to represent theUnited States instead,[21] and on January 9, 2015, he was called up to the United States senior team camp ahead of friendly matches versusChile andPanama.[22] He did not play in either friendly due to not having an American passport at the time of the friendlies.
However, on April 14, 2015, Canada coachBenito Floro told media that Akindele was "99.9 percent" going to represent Canada instead of the United States,[23][24] and on June 2, Akindele accepted a call-up to the Canada national team for two2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches againstDominica.[25] He made his debut for Canada against Dominica on June 11.[26] He scored his first goal for Canada on June 16 in the return leg against Dominica atBMO Field in a 4–0 victory. Akindele scored his second Canada goal in a 1–1 friendly draw in June 2016 withAzerbaijan.[27]
Having been left out of the original 23-man squad for the2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Akindele was called-up by Canada at the quarter-final stage on July 23 as an injury replacement forAyo Akinola.[28] He appeared as a 70th-minute substitute againstCosta Rica as Canada progressed to the semi-finals with a 2–0 win.[29]
Akindele has two children with his wife Taylor, anaccountant.[30] He has abachelor's degree in engineer andmaster's degree in finance.[31] Akindele is anurbanism activist who advocates formixed-use development and affordable housing, largely through social media.[30][32]
| 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[a] | 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 | ||
| 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 |
| 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 |
FC Dallas
Orlando City
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