Dimitrie Apai (born 19 July 1994) is a Surinamese

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 for

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

, and the

Suriname national football team The Suriname national football team (; Sranantongo: ) represents Suriname in international football. The team is controlled by the Surinaamse Voetbal Bond (), which is a member of CONCACAF. History Although the former Dutch colony is located ...

Club career

Transvaal

Apai began his career with S.V. Transvaal of Suriname's semi-professional

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

. In late 2013, Apai was invited for a trial with

W Connection F.C. W. Connection Football Club is a professional football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the TT Pro League. The club plays its home games at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella. The club's offices are based at the Point Li ...

of Trinidad and Tobago's

TT Pro League The TT Premier Football League (formerly known as the TT Pro League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad an ...

after an impressive showing during

2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying The qualifying stage of the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship competition is handled by two regional bodies; the Caribbean Football Union (Caribbean zone) and the UNCAF (Central American zone). Four teams from Central America and five from the Cari ...

in which Apai scored three goals in three matches during the group stage including two against Trinidad and Tobago. Following a trial which saw him score four goals in two matches, it was announced on 30 January 2014 that W Connection purchased the player from Transvaal. By signing a contract with W Connection, Apai became only the second fully professional player representing Suriname at that time, along with

Stefano Rijssel Stefano Rijssel (born 26 March 1992) is a former Surinamese footballer. Club career Semi-professional Rijssel began his career with SV Leo Victor and Inter Moengotapoe, both of Suriname's Hoofdklasse. After being the league's top scorer with S ...

who also played for the Trinidadian club for two years.

W Connection

Apai made his professional debut on 24 January 2014 against

North East Stars Athletic Club of Port of Spain (previously known as North East Stars FC) is a Trinidad and Tobago professional association football, football club based in Port of Spain, Trinidad, that plays in the TT Premier Football League. The team plays its ...

. He scored his first goal for the club coming on as a substitute and scoring the stoppage time equalizer against

Central FC Central Football Club is a Trinidad and Tobago professional Association football, football club, based in California, Trinidad and Tobago, California, that plays in the TT Pro League. Founded in 2012, the ''Sharks'' were the 21st team to join th ...

on 11 February 2014. Apai has played in 3 CCL matches of the 2016 season against

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its Association football, football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, Costa Rica, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aym ...

and two against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

. On 19 January 2016, Apai scored the fourth and fifth goal for Connection in a 7–1 win. His first international goal for W Connection was in the 2016 CFU Club Championship where he scored in the 67th minute against CS Moulien. On 11 March 2016, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Point Fortin Civic. He scored two more goals for Connection in a 3–0 win vs St. Ann's Rangers on 17 May 2016 in the seasons last match. On July, Apai said in a local Surinamese interview that he will not return to Suriname at his young age, stating he wants to become a professional player whether it is in Europe or elsewhere. He was a starter in the first match against

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

in the 2017 CCL and assisted Jamal Charles into scoring the second goal of the match for Connection. He was a starter once again in the first match against Honduras Progreso and also giving an assist. On 25 October, he scored his first goal of the new season against Point Fortin Civic that ended 7–0 for WCO. On 14 January 2017, Apai scored two goals and gave one assist in the match against Defence Force, three days later, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against St. Ann's Rangers for W Connection. Apai was named player of the month December for the season of 2016–2017, In which he scored four goals in four matches. In December 2017, Apai was named Footballer of the Year in Suriname by VSJS.

Europe

After leaving W Connection in summer 2019, Apai went on trial with Beerschot of the

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

. While in Europe he took part in a training camp with the national team in preparation for upcoming 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League B matches. He appeared in a match against

Telstar Telstar refers to a series of communications satellites. The first two, Telstar 1 and Telstar 2, were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched atop of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962, successfully relayed the first televisi ...

and, after scoring Suriname's game-winning goal in its final friendly against RKSV Leonidas, he was invited to trial with

Mosta Mosta () is a small but densely populated city in the Northern Region of Malta. The most prominent building in Mosta is the Rotunda, a large basilica built by its parishioners' volunteer labour. It features the world's 3rd largest unsupported ...

of the

Maltese Premier League The Maltese Premier League, known as 360Sports Malta Premier for sponsorship reasons with 360Sports (colloquialism, colloquially known as ''Il-Kampjonat Premjer''), is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Foot ...

Return to Transvaal

After six years with W Connection, Apai returned to Suriname signing for Transvaal.

International career

Apai has represented Suriname at the U17, U20, and U23 levels. Apai made his senior international debut in the 2013

ABCS Tournament The ABCS Tournament is an annual football tournament between the representative teams of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Suriname. Louis Giskus, the President of the Suriname Football Federation said that the competition was formed "to strengthe ...

against

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

. He scored his first international goal in the match, the second goal of a 2–0 victory. In June 2021, Apai was named to the Suriname squad for 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 ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Surinames's goal tally first.''

Honours

W Connection *

: 2018 *

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

: 2017 * First Citizens Cup 2015, 2017 * Charity Shield: 2018 Individual * First Citizens Cup MVP: 2017 * First Citizens Cup Topscorer: 2017 * First Citizens Cup Best Forward: 2017 * Surinamese Footballer of the Year (2): 2016, 2017

References

External links

TT Pro League Profile
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apai, Dimitrie 1994 births Living people Footballers from Paramaribo Surinamese men's footballers 21st-century Surinamese sportsmen Surinamese expatriate men's footballers Suriname men's international footballers SVB Eerste Divisie players TT Pro League players S.V. Transvaal players W Connection F.C. players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Trinidad and Tobago Surinamese expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago Men's association football forwards Suriname men's youth international footballers Suriname men's under-20 international footballers