David Accam

David Accam (born 28 September 1990) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Hammarby IF, on loan from Nashville SC, and the Ghana national team.

David Accam
Accam playing for Ghana in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-09-28) 28 September 1990
Place of birth Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Hammarby IF
(on loan from Nashville SC)
Youth career
2004–2008 Right to Dream Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Ledbury Town 8 (5)
2010–2011 Evesham United 20 (10)
2010–2011 → Forest Green Rovers (dual registration) 0 (0)
2012 Östersunds FK 14 (9)
2012–2014 Helsingborgs IF 62 (30)
2015–2017 Chicago Fire 78 (33)
2018–2019 Philadelphia Union 31 (5)
2019 Columbus Crew SC 15 (2)
2020– Nashville SC 7 (1)
2021– → Hammarby IF (loan) 0 (0)
National team‡
2014– Ghana 11 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 September 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 July 2017

Club career

Ghana

Accam did not belong to a club during the first twelve years of his life. He instead spent his time playing with friends on gravel pitches in the parks of Accra. There, he was spotted by a scout from Ghana-based Right to Dream Academy, where he would spend four years.[1]

England

In 2008, Accam received a three-year scholarship to study at Hartpury College in England.[1] He combined his time there with playing in the English lower leagues. After signing for English club Ledbury Town, Accam scored on his debut in December 2009.[2] He then played for English club Evesham United during the 2010–11 season while also featuring in the reserve team squad at Forest Green Rovers. The fact that Accam was in England on a student visa prevented him from playing for their first team, or any club in a higher division.[3][4][5]

After his time at Evesham United he took part in the Nike "The Chance" competition where he was one of eight winners who got to spend the 2011–2012 season with Nike Football Academy.[6]

Sweden
Accam playing for Helsingborg in the 2012 Allsvenskan.

In March 2012, Accam signed for Swedish third tier side Östersund.[7] English manager Graham Potter was in charge of the club and he had already signed two other Ghanaians who were studying with Accam at Hartpury College. And after scouting him at the Nike Academy he brought Accam with him back to Sweden.[8] Accam became an immediate success with his new team and several Allsvenskan clubs became interested in signing him for the summer transfer window.[9]

Accam was then signed by Allsvenskan club Helsingborg in August 2012, and was due to be loaned back to Östersund for the remainder of the season, but was recalled by Helsingborg for an upcoming Champions League qualifying match against Celtic.[10][11] The 2 million SEK transfer fee paid by Helsingborg was the highest ever for a player from the Swedish third tier.[1]

After scoring seventeen goals in twenty-six appearances, the club announced that Accam would be leaving Helsingborg to pursue opportunities elsewhere.[12] After he made the announcement, Accam was linked with a move away from Tigres,[13] Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart,[14] a number of English clubs[15] and CSKA Moscow.[16] Accam rejected a move to CSKA Moscow, having insisted that Accam hadn't been in talks with the club.[17]

United States

Despite initially denying the move,[18] Accam signed as a designated player with Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer on 19 December 2014.[19]

After three seasons with Chicago, on 19 January 2018 Accam was traded to Philadelphia Union in exchange for $900,000 in Targeted Allocation Money and $300,000 in General Allocation Money.[20] In Accam's first season with Philadelphia, he was hampered by injuries and recorded just one goal in 23 appearances.[21] His form picked up in his second season, scoring 4 goals with 2 assists in 11 games, however, he was traded to Columbus Crew SC on 8 May 2019.[21] On 16 May, it was announced that Accam would be traded to Nashville SC, effective 1 January 2020, and would play out the 2019 season with the Crew.[22]

Return to Sweden

On January 28, Accam joined Swedish side Hammarby IF on a 12 month loan with an option to transfer.[23][24]

International career

Accam received his first call-up to the Ghana national team for a 2014 World Cup qualification match against Sudan on 24 March 2013, in which he was an unused substitute.[25][26]

On 12 May 2014, Accam was named in a provisional 26-man squad in the 2014 World Cup by Ghana manager James Kwesi Appiah.[27] However, on 2 June 2014, Accam was left out of the World Cup squad. Accam expressed his disappointment of being dropped for the World Cup squad.[28]

On 15 November 2014, Accam made his international debut for Ghana in a 1–0 defeat to Uganda in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute for Christian Atsu.[29][30]

He was selected as part of Ghana's preliminary squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[31]

Personal life

Accam received his U.S. green card in October 2015 which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[32]

Accam is a lifelong Arsenal fan and is a devout Christian.[33]

Career statistics

Club
As of 3 September 2020[34][35]
Club Season League Domestic Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup Continental Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ledbury Town 2009–10 WM(R)L Premier Division 8500–––8+5+
Evesham United 2010–11 SFL Premier Division 20100000–0020+10+
Forest Green Rovers (dual reg.) 2010–11 Conference Premier 0000––0000
Östersunds FK 2012 Division 1 14912–––1511
Helsingborgs 2012 Allsvenskan 10310–8[lower-alpha 3]000193
2013 Allsvenskan 271042–––3112
2014 Allsvenskan 251766–––3123
Total 62301180080008138
Chicago Fire 2015 MLS 241020–––2610
2016 24945–––2814
2017 301400––103114
Total 7833650000108538
Philadelphia Union 2018 MLS 23151––00282
2019 8400––0084
Total 31551000000366
Columbus Crew SC 2019 MLS 15222–––174
Nashville SC 2020 MLS 71––––71
Hammarby IF (loan) 2021 Allsvenskan 0000–––00
Career total 2359525+18+0+0+801+0+269+113+
  1. Includes the Svenska Cupen and U.S. Open Cup
  2. Appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs
  3. Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, six appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International
As of 1 July 2017[36]
Ghana
YearAppsGoals
201410
201551
201630
201720
Total111
International goals
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 14 June 2015Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana Mauritius7–17–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

References
  1. "Dyraste division-1- spelare i historien". aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 15 September 2012.
  2. Mark Stanford (4 December 2009). "Symons calls for errors to be stopped". worcesternews.co.uk. Worcester News.
  3. "Red tape restricting Rovers' African stars". This is Gloucestershire. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013.
  4. Lane, Ellis (30 August 2017). "Former Hartpury student set to join Premiership giants West Ham United". gloucestershirelive.
  5. "David Accam interview: On Common Goal and Africans' right to dream". skysports.com. Sky Sports.
  6. "David Accam wins "The Chance" competition". Myjoyonline.com. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013.
  7. "David Accam, ÖFK senaste nyförvärv". ostersundsfk.se. Östersunds FK. 26 March 2012.
  8. "Graham: "Whoever came to the club had to have a real desire for ÖFK"". ostersundsfk.se. Östersunds FK. 6 September 2012.
  9. "Halva Allsvenskan jagar Waris vän: "Jag är snabbare"". eurosport.se. Eurosport. 5 June 2012.
  10. "Helsingborg recall David Accam for UEFA Champions League play-offs against Celtic". ghanatoghana.com. Ghana To Ghana. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012.
  11. "Officiellt: David Accam flyttar till Helsingborg redan nu". fotbolltransfers.com (in Swedish). Fotboll transfers. 11 August 2012.
  12. "David Accam bekräftar – lämnar Helsingborg". expressen.se (in Swedish). Expressen. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. "Accam uppges vara nära flytt till Mexiko". expressen.se (in Swedish). Expressen. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  14. "Stuttgart, Frankfurt lead race to sign Ghana's Accam". goal.com. Goal. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  15. "Transfer news: English sides chasing Helsingborgs forward David Accam". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  16. "Accam uppges vara nära CSKA" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  17. "Accam agent denies CSKA interest". supersport.com. Super Sport. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  18. "David Accam: Ghana attacker insists he has not signed for Chicago Fire but knows next destination". modernghana.com. Modern Ghana. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  19. "Chicago Fire Sign Ghanaian Forward David Accam". chicagofirefc.com. Chicago Fire Official Website. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  20. "Philadelphia Union Acquire Designated Player David Accam". philadelphiaunion.com. Philadelphia Union. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  21. Tenorio, Paul (8 May 2019). "Sources: Philadelphia Union to trade David Accam to Columbus..." theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  22. "Columbus Crew SC acquires General and Targeted Allocation Money in trade with Nashville SC". columbuscrewsc.com. Columbus Crew SC. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  23. "Nashville SC Loans David Accam To Swedish Side Hammarby If Fotbollförening". nashvillesc.com. Nashville SC. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  24. "David Accam på lån till Hammarby". hammarbyfotboll.se (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  25. Michael Oti Adjei (12 March 2013). "Emmanuel Frimpong earns first Ghana call-up". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation.
  26. Kent Mensah (18 December 2013). "Helsingborg winger Accam eyes Ghana recall". goal.com. Goal.
  27. "World Cup 2014: Jeffery Schlupp selected in 26-man squad". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  28. "Accam petad från Ghanas VM-lag: "Besviken"". fotbollskanalen.se (in Swedish). Fotboll Skanalen. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  29. "David Accam: Helsingborg IF Attacker Marks Ghana Debut in Defeat". ghanasoccernet.com. Ghana Soccer Net. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  30. Kwakofi, Edwin (15 November 2014). "Uganda 1-0 Ghana: How the Black Stars players rated". citifmonline.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  31. Michael Oti Adjei (24 December 2014). "Nations Cup 2015: No Boateng or Muntari in Ghana squad". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  32. "Green Card: David Accam gets permanent resident status in the United States". modernghana.com. Modern Ghana. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  33. Liam Flint (9 April 2017). "Chicago Fire forward, David Accam: "My talent is from God"". xtheline.co.uk. Cross the Line. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  34. David Accam at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  35. David Accam at Major League Soccer
  36. "David Accam". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
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