André Gregory Bona (born 19 January 1990) is a French 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 ...

who plays as a defender.

Club career

Early career

Bona began playing football at age five with local club Afro–Antillais before switching to S.O. Caillolais. At age thirteen, he joined the academy of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

side

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

but ultimately left to focus on

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

. After six years competing at the national level in the 60m, 100m and 200m, Bona returned to football at the senior amateur level. In 2014, he received offers from clubs in the

Championnat National 2 The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

and

Championnat National 3 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

, but opted to pursue an education overseas in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

instead. From 2014 to 2018 Bona attended the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal ( English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qu� ...

, where he studied

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical ...

. In 2017, he signed with local PLSQ side

CS Longueuil Club Soccer Longueuil is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Longueuil, Quebec. Since 2014, the club has competed in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec. History The club was originally founded in 1970. In 2014, the club joine ...

and made nine league appearances that season. The following year, he made another twelve league appearances for Longueuil, scoring three goals.

HFX Wanderers

On 12 November 2018, Bona was selected in the second round of the

CPL–U Sports Draft The CPL–U Sports Draft (french: Repêchage de la PLC–U Sports) is an annual event in which Canadian Premier League clubs select players from U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. The draft allows student-athletes to play pro ...

, 10th overall, by the

HFX Wanderers HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer l ...

. On 29 March 2019, Bona officially signed with Wanderers and made his

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

debut on 28 April 2019 as a substitute in the club's inaugural match. André Bona scored his first goal for Halifax in the round Two in the Canadian Championship in Winnipeg against Valour FC on June 12, 2019. During injury time the defender countered Valour FC off a corner and demonstrated his pace by sprinting and scoring on an open net, sealing a 2-0 win at Investors Group Field stadium. On 14 December 2019, the club announced that Bona would not return for the 2020 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bona, Andre 1990 births Living people Association football defenders French footballers Footballers from Marseille Black French sportspeople French expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada French expatriate sportspeople in Canada Université du Québec à Montréal alumni HFX Wanderers FC draft picks HFX Wanderers FC players Première Ligue de soccer du Québec players Canadian Premier League players University and college soccer players in Canada CS Longueuil players