Akeem Garcia

Akeem Garcia (born 9 November 1996) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Canadian club HFX Wanderers and the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

Akeem Garcia
Garcia playing for HFX Wanderers in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-11-09) 9 November 1996
Place of birth Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 HFX Wanderers
Number 11
Youth career
Arima Ball Masters
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 San Juan Jabloteh
2014–2017 W Connection
2017 North East Stars 12 (4)
2018 Santa Rosa 16 (5)
2019– HFX Wanderers 33 (13)
National team‡
2011–2013 Trinidad and Tobago U17 6 (2)
2012–2015 Trinidad and Tobago U20 10 (0)
2015– Trinidad and Tobago 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 September 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2019

Club career

Early career

Garcia began playing football at age six with local club Arima Ball Masters.[1] At age 17, Garcia signed for TT Pro League side San Juan Jabloteh.[1]

W Connection

In 2014, Garcia signed with W Connection, scoring five goals in two league appearances that season.[2] He received great recognition for his play that year and earned his first senior national team call-up in early 2015.[1] Later that year during tryouts for the Trinidad and Tobago U23 team, Garcia tore his ACL and after undergoing surgery missed a total of twelve months while recovering.[1]

North East Stars

In 2017, Garcia signed for his hometown club, North East Stars.[1] He went on to score four goals in twelve league appearances that season as North East Stars won the TT Pro League, Garcia's first league title.[2] Garcia also added another seven goals in other competitions that year.[1]

Santa Rosa

In 2018, Garcia followed North East Stars manager Derek King to TT Super League side Santa Rosa.[3] That season, he scored five goals in sixteen league appearances and ten goals in all competitions as Santa Rosa won the league title.[2][3][4] After the end of the season, Garcia spent two weeks on trial with Mexican Ascenso MX side Celaya.[1]

2019

On 10 January 2019, Garcia signed with Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers, where Derek King had signed as an assistant manager.[3] Garcia scored the first goal in Wanderers history in the team's home opener on 4 May 2019.[5] Garcia finished the season with a team-leading seven league goals in 24 appearances, tying for seventh among the league's top scorers.[5] On 7 November 2019, Garcia re-signed with Halifax for the 2020 season.[6]

2020

Garcia excelled in the shortened 2020 Canadian Premier League season. He was a major part of Halifax's drastic turnaround from their previous last place finish, and the Wanderers made it all the way to the final, where they were defeated by Forge FC. In total, Garcia scored six goals in 10 matches, winning the Golden Boot.[7] On 3 November 2020, Garcia re-signed with Halifax for the 2021 season.[8]

International career

Youth

Garcia received his first youth call-up for Trinidad and Tobago as a 14 year-old at the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, but did not appear in the tournament.[5] Garcia was called up again in the following U17 cycle and played in all three matches of the Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, scoring goals against the British Virgin Islands and Suriname.[5] After Trinidad and Tobago qualified, Garcia was called up again for the finals tournament, appearing in all three matches for Trinidad and Tobago against Canada, Costa Rica and the quarter-final loss to Panama.[5]

As a 15 year-old, Garcia first represented his country at the under-20 level in qualifying for the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, making five appearances as Trinidad and Tobago ultimately failed to qualify.[5] Garcia was also eligible for the following U20 cycle and appeared in all five matches for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[5]

Garcia attended trials for the Trinidad and Tobago U23 team ahead of the Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, but missed the tournament after tearing his ACL.[1]

Senior

Garcia earned his first cap for the Trinidad and Tobago senior national team on 27 March 2015 in a friendly against Panama. He played the final 26 minutes of the match in a 0–1 loss.[9]

Following strong performances in the Canadian Premier League, on 4 October 2019 Garcia was recalled to the national side for a CONCACAF Nations League match against Honduras on 10 October and a friendly against Venezuela on 14 October.[10]

Personal life

Garcia was born in Chaguanas and grew up in the Calvary area of Arima.[1]

Career statistics
As of 12 September 2020[2][5]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
W Connection 2014–15 TT Pro League 25000025
North East Stars 2017 TT Pro League 124?0?71211
Santa Rosa 2018 TT Super League 165—?51610
HFX Wanderers 2019 Canadian Premier League 2474100288
2020 Canadian Premier League 96000096
Total 331341003714
Career total 6327410126740
  1. Includes appearances in the Canadian Championship.

Honours

Club

W Connection

North East Stars

Santa Rosa

HFX Wanderers

Individual

References
  1. Gary Griffiths (3 October 2019). "Akeem Garcia: The boy from Arima". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  2. "Akeem Garcia". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. Gareth Hampshire (10 January 2019). "Wanderers announce first ever international player signings as Trinidad and Tobago quartet". HFX Wanderers FC. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. "Akeem Garcia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  5. "A. Garcia". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. Gareth Hampshire (7 November 2019). "Wanderers leading scorer Akeem Garcia returning for 2020". HFX Wanderers FC. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  7. "HFX Wanderers FC's Akeem Garcia collects 2020 CPL Golden Boot Award". Canadian Premier League. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. "HFX Wanderers announce 12 returnees for 2021; N'Sa, Béland-Goyette released". Canadian Premier League. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. "Trinidad and Tobago vs. Panama, 27 March 2015". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  10. Hampshire, Gareth (4 October 2019). "Wanderers' Garcia called up to Trinidad and Tobago squad".
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