Over the years, many Ghanaian players have donned the colours of American football teams. Louis Ken-Kwofie joined the New York MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) in 1996, followed by Joe Addo in 1999. Although there's a long list of Ghanaian players who made the trip to the United States in their respective careers, we would like to focus on the ones who are currently playing in the country.
Ghanaian players in the MLS
There are a fair few Ghanaian players who currently ply their trade in the Major League Soccer, and these are:
Harrison Afful and Patrick Agyemang – Charlotte FC
Not to be confused with former Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers and Brentford striker Patrick Agyemang, who earned four caps for the Black Stars in the early 2000s. Charlotte FC's Patrick Agyemang is one of two Ghanaian players at the club, and he only started playing in the MLS this year. At the time of writing, the 22 year old has represented the club on eight occasions, scoring one goal.
On the other hand, Harrison Afful has had his fair share of success at club and international level. With 83 appearances for country, the veteran has two AFCON silver medals and a bronze medal to his name. He has also made the CAF team of the year, Africa Cup of Nations team of the tournament, and was Ghana player of the year in 2014.
Furthermore, Afful won the Ghana Premier League title with Asante Kotoko, four Tunisian league titles with Esperance, including the CAF Champions League, as well as the MLS Cup and Campeones Cup with Columbus Crew. The 36 year old fullback has plied his trade in the United States for over eight years, representing Columbus Crew and Charlotte FC.
Of all the countless thousands of pictures that were taken of Harrison Afful during his Columbus Crew career, this one is the one.
This one is it. #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/xiErx0YM2j
— Morgan Hughes (@Morgan_Hughes) December 18, 2021
Eugene Ansah and Ewa Twumasi – Dallas FC
Just like Charlotte FC, Dallas FC has two Ghanaian players in their squad. Eugene Ansah earned his first and only cap for the Black Stars in 2020; he started in Ghana's 3-0 loss at the hands of Mali in a friendly match. The 28 year old joined Dallas FC on a free transfer in July this year, making his first appearance for the club on the same day this article was written.
On the other hand, Ewa Twumasi has spent his entire career in the United States; he has featured for a fair few lower league teams, including Austin Bold FC, OKC Energy and GPS Portland Phoenix.
Latif Blessing – Toronto FC
Born in Accra, Latif Blessing previously played in the Ghana Premier League, scoring 17 goals in 21 appearances for Liberty Professionals. The 26 year old moved to the United States in 2017, and has been there ever since. He has played for Sporting Kansas City, Los Angeles FC and New England Revolution. Interestingly, Latif Blessing joined Toronto FC on the week this article was written.
Emmanuel Boateng and Joshua Bolma – New England Revolution
There are two Ghanaian players who currently ply their trade at New England Revolution. Although Emmanuel Boateng is currently 29 years old, he's yet to earn his first cap for the Black Stars. The winger has been a bit of a journeyman in the MLS, playing for LA Galaxy, DC United, Columbus Crew and New England Revolution. On the other hand, 21 year old Joshua Bolma joined New England Revolution from the USL League Two earlier this year; he made his first appearance in the MLS on the day this article was written.
It's also important to point out that New England Revolution's Emmanuel Boateng is not to be confused with Rio Ave's Emmanuel Boateng, who has appeared seven times for the Black Stars. Then again, there's Elfsborg's Emmanuel Boateng, who was a regular in the Ghana Premier League, playing for WAFA and Aduana Stars.
Jonathan Mensah – San Jose Earthquakes
Jonathan Mensah has had a long and interesting career; he won the U20 AFCON as well as the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2009. The 33 year old has appeared 70 times for country, earning two silver medals at the Africa Cup of Nations. A player who kicked off his career in the Ghana Premier League with Ashanti Gold, Mensah moved to Europe where he played for Udinese and Granada. The veteran player has spent the last six years in the United States, playing for Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes.
Kwadwo Opoku – Montreal FC
Kwadwo Opoku started his career at Los Angeles FC; and after spending three years with the California-based club, he moved to Montreal FC in July 2023, a week before turning 22. It may interest you to know that Opoku scored his first goal for Montreal FC on the same day this article was written; he opened the scoring in Montreal's 2-0 victory over Charlotte FC, with Nigeria's Nnamdi Chinonso Offor getting on the scoresheet too. At the time of writing, Kwadwo Opoku is yet to earn a place in Ghana's national team.
BELIEVE IT!. Happy to have made my home debut for the club. thanks to the fans for the warm welcome💙🖤. #SmallBoyWithBigGod❤️🙏🏽. #ONGOD🙏🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/oxjJfxn53m
— Kwadwo Opoku (@Mahala_jnr) July 16, 2023
Samuel Kwaku Owusu – New York City FC
We all know Samuel Owusu, the former Al Ahli Saudi player who has earned more than 15 caps for the Black Stars, and is currently playing in the Serbian Superliga. The prolific midfielder once scored in eight consecutive matches, registering nine goals. This is a different player however, and a much younger one. Samuel Kwaku Owusu is yet to represent his country; he started his career with New York City FC's youth team; and at the time of writing, he has just one appearance for the main team.
Yaw Yeboah – Columbus Crew
A player who started his career at Manchester City, but was unable to earn a place in the main team; Yaw Yeboah had a few loan spells across European teams like Lille and Twente before moving to Wisla Krakow in Poland. The 26 year old joined Columbus Crew in January 2022, and has been a vital part of the team since then. It may also interest you to know that Yeboah represented the Black Meteors at the 2019 U23 AFCON tournament, registering two goals; he also has four caps for the Black Stars.
Ghana winger Yaw Yeboah named in MLS Team of the Week https://t.co/AOyEBtAdoq
— Ghanasoccernet.com (@Ghanasoccernet) July 4, 2023
Lalas Abubakar – Colorado Rapids
The last Ghanaian player on our list is Lalas Abubakar. The 28 year old defender has spent his whole career in the United States, appearing for teams like Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew and Flint City Bucks. Like most of the players on this list, Abubakar is yet to play for the Black Stars. However, he did represent Ghana at the U20 level.
Ghanaian players in lower American leagues
Although these players don't play in the top tier of American football, there are a few we would like to mention. Prosper Kassim and Anderson Asiedu currently represent Birmingham Legion in the USL Championship. There's also Rashid Tetteh, who plays for Tulsa FC. Likewise, former Black Stars forward Solomon Asanté plies his trade with Indy Eleven. Dennis Dowouna currently plays for Miami FC, while Hartford Athletic has former WAFA and Asante Kotoko striker Elvis Amoh in their squad.
In the USL Championship's Western Conference, Mohamed Abu plays for San Antonio FC, Ebenezer Ackon plays for San Diego Loyal SC, while Jordan Ayimbila and Eric Oteng are both signed to Las Vegas Lights.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
