Eris Tafaj (born September 10, 1980) is an Albanian former

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 played in the Canadian Professional/Soccer League, and

Albanian Superliga Kategoria Superiore (), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons with internet service provider, Abissnet, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league syste ...

. He is currently a trainer and coach with Eurostar Football Academy and Elite Development Soccer Academy.

Playing career

Tafaj played at the youth level with Partizani FK, but ultimately settled in Canada at the age of 14. In 2000, he began to play at the college level with the

Oakland Golden Grizzlies The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are the athletic teams that represent Oakland University (OU) in the Horizon League and NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The school fields 16 teams: Oakland Golden Gr ...

. In 2001, he transferred to play with the

Detroit Titans The Detroit Mercy Titans (formerly known as the Detroit Titans) are the athletic teams of University of Detroit Mercy. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The school primarily competes in ...

. In 2003, he played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League with London City. Throughout the 2003 season he helped London secure the

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional ...

, where he successfully registered a goal in the

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. At the conclusion of the season he finished as the club's top goalscorer, and team MVP. In 2005, he was selected for the CPSL All-Star team against

Glasgow Rangers Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been it ...

. After leading London in the scoring charts he was transferred to

KS Shkumbini Klubi i Futbollit Shkumbini Peqin is an Albanian football club based in the town of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in ...

in the

. After a season abroad he returned to London, and was selected for the second time to the CSL All-Star team against

Clyde F.C. Clyde Football Club is a Scottish semi-professional football club who play in . Formed in 1877 at the River Clyde in Glasgow, the club host their home matches at New Douglas Park, having played at Broadwood Stadium from 1994 until 2022. The ...

In the middle of the season he departed from the club, but would eventually return for the 2011 season.

Managerial career

After retiring from professional he was recruited by former London City head coach Luka Shaqiri as a staff coach for Eurostar Football Academy. Along with former teammate Isa Bulku he formed Elite Development Soccer Academy.

Honors

London City *

(1):

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tafaj, Eris 1980 births Living people Albanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards London City Soccer Club players KF Shkumbini Peqin players Kategoria Superiore players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Albanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's soccer players Detroit Mercy Titans men's soccer players 21st-century Albanian sportsmen