Calvin Harris (footballer)

Calvin Harris (born 20 March 2000) is an English professional soccer player who currently plays for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati.

Calvin Harris
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-03-20) 20 March 2000
Place of birth Middlesbrough, England
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 FC Cincinnati
Youth career
2010–2014 HKFC
2014–2018 Wellington Phoenix
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 32 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018 Wellington Phoenix Reserves 6 (2)
2021– FC Cincinnati 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Harris was born in Middlesbrough, England. His father, Terry, played for Sheffield United.[1] He moved to Hong Kong at the age of 10.[2]

Youth career

Harris began his youth career with HKFC. When he was 14, he got a scholarship to join the youth academy of Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand.[3] He made his debut for the senior team at the age of 16, in the 2017 Sisters City Cup, a friendly game against Beijing BG.[4] He represented the Phoenix in the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens in 2016, 2017 and 2018.[5] However, as he was unable to play for the senior team in any official matches in New Zealand, due to a FIFA rule, until he turned 18.[3] He was named the New Zealand Schools National Tournament MVP in 2018.[5] In 2018, he joined the second team, Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves in the New Zealand Football Championship, scoring two goals in six games.[3] The Phoenix decided to not sign him to a first team contract for the A-League club as he would have been required to use one of their five import slots.[6]

College career

Going into college, Harris chose Wake Forest over Akron, Elon, and North Carolina.[7] As a freshman, Harris appeared in 23 games for Wake Forest, and scored 6 goals.[7] He was also named to the 2019 All-ACC Freshman Team.[8] In his second year with Wake Forest, Harris appeared in all 9 matches of the fall season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, scoring four goals.[7] Harris was named co-offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 21-27,[9] and then won the award a second time later.[5]

Professional career

Harris signed a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer,[10] ahead of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected second overall by FC Cincinnati.[11]

References
  1. "MLS SuperDraft 2021 eligible players, Generation adidas signings announced". Major League Soccer. 14 January 2021.
  2. Young, Ben (7 October 2018). "Calvin Harris on the challenges of playing and studying abroad, sacrifices he's had to make for football, and his family legacy". South China Morning Post.
  3. "Calvin Harris, a graduate of the Wellington Academy in Phoenix, to instantly influence MLS". Veriety. 22 January 2021.
  4. "Phoenix retain Sister City Cup as Video Assistant Referees make live debut". Wellington Phoenix. 14 February 2017.
  5. Arya, Khushi (19 November 2020). "Deacon Spotlight: Calvin Harris". Old Gold & Black.
  6. "Wellington Phoenix tip academy graduate Calvin Harris to make instant impact in MLS". Stuff. 22 January 2021.
  7. "Calvin Harris Profile". Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  8. "2019 All-ACC Men's Soccer Team Announced". ACC. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  9. "Pitt, Wake Forest Take Home Men's Soccer Weekly Honors". ACC. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  10. Brennan, Pat (21 January 2021). "'X-factor' Calvin Harris leads FC Cincinnati's 2021 MLS SuperDraft class". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  11. Clary, Jacob (2021-01-21). "FC Cincinnati selects Wake Forest forward Calvin Harris in SuperDraft". Cincinnati Soccer Talk. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
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