Christian Kai John Forino-Joseph (born 26 April 2000) is a 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 defender for club

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Born in England, he plays for the

Saint Lucia national football team The Saint Lucia national football team, recognized as St Lucia by FIFA, represents Saint Lucia in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Saint Lucia Football Association, the governing body for football in ...

. He is a product of the Brentford Academy and played his first senior football with

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs Wingate & Finchley and

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

Club career

Early years

A defender, Forino-Joseph began his youth career with spells in the Soccer Chance Academy, the Brentford Academy and

Cheshunt Cheshunt (/ˈtʃɛzənt/ CHEZ-ənt) is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, situated within the London commuter belt approximately north of Central London. The town lies on the River Lea and Lee Navigation, bordering th ...

U18. After a break from football to focus on education, he signed his first professional contract with the U23 team at League Two club

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

in July 2018. Forino-Joseph was released when his one-year contract expired and joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division club Wingate & Finchley in September 2019. He made 20 appearances and scored one goal during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-affected 2019–20 season. Forino had a spell at

United Counties League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an England, English association football, football league covering an area including the English Counties of the United Kingdom, ...

Premier Division club

during the first half of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, which was again abandoned early due to COVID-19.

Wycombe Wanderers

After a trial period, Forino-Joseph signed a one-year contract with EFL Championship, Championship club Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers on 27 April 2021. Following the club's relegation to EFL League One, League One shortly after he arrived at Adams Park, he had a long spell out injured and undertook a lengthy course of conditioning with the club's Development Squad physiotherapist. Forino-Joseph made his senior debut with a start in a 3–1 EFL Trophy group stage defeat to Aston Villa F.C. Under-23s and Academy, Aston Villa U21 on 31 August 2021. His second appearance came with a start in a FA Cup first round match versus Hartlepool United F.C., Hartlepool United on 6 November and he scored the first senior goal for the club in the 2–2 draw. In April 2024, Forino was allegedly Racism in association football, racially abused by Blackpool F.C., Blackpool fans. He was offered a new contract by Wycombe at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Bolton Wanderers

On 14 June 2024, it was announced that Forino-Joseph would join EFL League One side

on a Free transfer (association football), free transfer, signing a three-year contract set to be activated on 1 July 2024. In September 2024 he suffered a hamstring injury. He underwent surgery in October, and was expected to be out for 3 to 4 months. On 1 April 2025, he scored his first goal for Bolton in their local derby with Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic at the Brick Community Stadium. The goal in the latter stages of the game handed Wanderers a 1-0 victory and was their first win over Wigan in ten years. Forino-Joseph later dedicated his goal to the Bolton fans.

International career

Forino-Joseph was eligible for England national football team, England, Italy national football team, Italy and Saint Lucia national football team, Saint Lucia, and in December 2022, pledged his international allegiance to Saint Lucia. He received his first call-up to the Saint Lucia national team in November 2023.

Personal life

In 2021, Forino-Joseph gave up a place at university in order to become a professional footballer. He is of Saint Lucian and Italian descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Wycombe Wanderers *EFL Trophy runner-up: 2023–24 EFL Trophy, 2023–24 Individual * Wycombe Wanderers F.C., Wycombe Wanderers Player of the Month: 2021–22 Wycombe Wanderers F.C. season, December 2021

References

External links

Chris Forino-Joseph
at wycombewanderers.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Forino-Joseph, Chris 2000 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district) Saint Lucian men's footballers Saint Lucia men's international footballers English men's footballers Saint Lucian people of Italian descent English people of Saint Lucian descent English people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Men's association football defenders Brentford F.C. players Cheshunt F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Wingate & Finchley F.C. players Loughborough University F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Isthmian League players United Counties League players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen