Aziel Christopher Jackson (born October 25, 2001), also known as AZ, is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

Club career

Youth

Jackson joined the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

academy in 2014, where he played until 2017. In 2017, he moved with his family to France, subsequently joining the

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

academy until 2018. He also spent time with

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 ...

side

Blagnac Blagnac (; ) is a Communes of France, commune of the greater Toulouse area in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in southwestern France. The city hosts the aviation museum Aeroscopia. It is the third-largest suburb of the city o ...

. In 2019, he returned to the United States, joining the Crossfire FC academy, as well as training with

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

in 2020.

Minnesota United

On April 30, 2021, Jackson signed a homegrown player contract with

club

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

, who acquired his rights from

in exchange for a third-round pick in the

2022 MLS SuperDraft The 2022 MLS SuperDraft was the 23rd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season and has been conducted via conference calls since 2020. Previously, the S ...

. On August 24, 2021, Jackson was loaned to

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

side

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

. On March 23, 2022, it was announced Jackson would spend the season with

Minnesota United FC 2 MNUFC2 is an American professional soccer team that is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the reserve team of Minnesota United FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On December 6, 2021, MNUFC2 were named as one of 21 clubs that wou ...

, the club's

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

side.

St. Louis City

On November 7, 2022, Jackson was traded to

St. Louis City SC St. Louis City Soccer Club (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in St. Louis. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Con ...

in exchange for $150,000 of General Allocation Money ahead of the club's inaugural MLS season.

St. Louis City 2

On March 26, 2023, Jackson was on loan from his first team

and he made his debut against

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

Columbus Crew

On June 18, 2024, Jackson was traded to

in exchange for a guaranteed $650,000 in General Allocation Money. St. Louis could also receive another $250,000 in conditional General Allocation Money and maintain a sell-on percentage if Jackson is sold outside of MLS.

International career

Jackson made his debut for the senior

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

on January 20, 2024, in a friendly against

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Personal

Aziel is the son of jazz drummer and composer Ali Jackson Jr. His favorite player is

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

Honors

St. Louis City SC * Western Conference (regular season):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Columbus Crew *

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Individual *

Best XI:

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 ...

References

External links

Aziel Jackson
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Aziel 2001 births Living people Soccer players from New York City Men's association football midfielders American men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS) Blagnac FC players Toulouse FC players Minnesota United FC players Minnesota United FC 2 players North Carolina FC players St. Louis City SC players Columbus Crew players Championnat National 3 players USL League One players MLS Next Pro players Major League Soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France 21st-century American sportsmen