Andre Jason Blake (born 21 November 1990) is a Jamaican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

and the Jamaica national team, which he captains.

Early career

After playing with

Sporting Central Academy Sporting Central Academy or otherwise known simply as Sporting is a Jamaican Football (soccer), football club based in the Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Clarendon, Jamaica. Sporting Central plays in Clarendon Major League, the third tier of Jamaican ...

and Harbour View, Blake spent three years playing college soccer at UConn, before signing a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

. He registered 37 shutouts over his three years in goal for the Huskies, winning the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2011 and 2012 and the

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Airborne aircraft carrier, a type of aircraft * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New ...

Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2013. He was named a semifinalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

in 2013.

Club career

Blake was selected by

first overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. Originally anticipated to be the Union's starting goalkeeper, he was deputized to the bench when the Union signed designated player

Raïs M'Bolhi Adi Raïs Cobos Adrien Ouahab M'Bolhi (; born 25 April 1986), known as Raïs M'Bolhi, is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria nation ...

. Blake made his first appearance for the Union in a friendly match against Crystal Palace in July 2014. He made his first competitive start for the Union in a 1–0 win against Montreal Impact, who debuted

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

as their new designated player. Blake started for five of the remaining eight matches in the 2015 season. On 26 September 2015, playing against

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, Blake set a Union team record for saves in a match with 10 stops to preserve a 1–1 draw. During the 2016 season, Blake cemented himself as the clear starting goalkeeper for the Union. In July 2016, he was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game. He was also selected to the

2019 MLS All-Star Game The 2019 Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 24th edition of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game. It was held on July 31 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, against Spanish club Atlético Madrid. Atlético won the game 3 ...

as the Union's only representative. During the 2020 season, Blake earned accolades for his performances including the Golden Glove for the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League ...

, his second MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award, and second selection to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

. Blake posted a 77.8 save percentage and allowed only 18 goals, leading the league in both stats for goalkeepers with 20 or more appearances. He also led the league in wins (13) and posted eight clean sheets. In July 2021, Blake signed a contract extension with the Union through the 2024 season, with a club option for 2025. In August, Blake was announced as a selection to the 2021 MLS All-Star Game versus the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

All-Stars.

International career

Blake made his debut

Jamaica national football team The Jamaica national football team, nicknamed the "''Reggae Boyz''", represents Jamaica in men's international Association football, football. The team's first match was against Haiti national football team, Haiti in 1925. The squad is under ...

start on 2 March 2014, versus

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, a 2–0 win. Blake earned his first medal for Jamaica later that year, winning the 2014 Caribbean Cup and earning the Golden Gloves award in the process. Blake started all six matches during the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, helping Jamaica advance to the final and ultimately finishing runner-up to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Blake left the final injured due to a hand injury, but was awarded the tournament's Golden Glove (the first Jamaican to do so) and a spot in the Best XI for his performances. During the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Blake again started all matches, helping Jamaica win the group stage. The Reggae Boyz won the quarter-final match against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, with Blake securing his 14th career shutout via a 1–0 victory. Advancing to the semi-finals, Jamaica was knocked out of the tournament, again by the

. During the

2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 16th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean regions organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was ...

, Blake was called up alongside Philadelphia Union teammates Cory Burke and Alvas Powell. Making four appearances for the Reggae Boyz during the competition, Jamaica was ultimately knocked out during the quarterfinals against the United States.

Personal life

Blake is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He is married, and has two children. He earned his U.S. green card in the summer of 2015, qualifying him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes. In 2021, Blake and his wife opened a sports bar, Blake's Kickout Sports Bar and Lounge, in his hometown of

May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica, Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river, and is a major market centre for the parish. The popula ...

. Produced by Fulwell 73,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

released ''Captains'' in 2022, an eight-part sports

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

following six national team captains in their respective

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

campaigns. Blake, representing Jamaica, starred alongside Thiago Silva (

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Luka Modrić Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder and Captain (association football), captains both La Liga club Real Madrid and the Croatia national football team, Cro ...

(

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Pierre-Emerick Emiliano François Aubameyang (born 18 June 1989) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Saudi Pro League club Al Qadsiah FC, Al-Qadsiah and Captain (associat ...

(

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

), Hassan Maatouk (

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

) and Brian Kaltak (

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

). It was released by

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and also shown on FIFA's own streaming platform, FIFA+.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Philadelphia Union *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

runner-up:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* U.S. Open Cup runner-up:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Jamaica * Caribbean Cup:

; runner-up:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

runner-up:

Individual *

Golden Glove:

*MLS is Back Tournament Best XI: 2020 *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

* MLS Goalkeeper of the Year:

Golden Glove Award:

*CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Andre 1990 births Living people Jamaican men's footballers 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Jamaican expatriate men's footballers Jamaica men's international footballers Sportspeople from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica UConn Huskies men's soccer players Philadelphia Union players Men's association football goalkeepers Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Philadelphia Union draft picks Major League Soccer players First overall MLS draft picks Major League Soccer All-Stars All-American college men's soccer players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Jamaica men's youth international footballers Jamaica men's under-20 international footballers Harbour View F.C. players