Jayden Nelson (born September 26, 2002) is a Canadian 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 winger for Canadian

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

side

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

and the Canada national team.

Early life

Nelson grew up in

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

and began playing soccer at age four with Brampton YSC. He later joined the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

at age 14.

Club career

Toronto FC

Nelson made his debut for Toronto FC III in

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

on September 2, 2017, in a game against

Toronto Skillz FC Toronto Skillz FC is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in the Scarborough, Toronto, Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario. In 2024, their senior teams became known as Scarborough Town FC, while the youth clu ...

in his only appearance of the season. The following season, he made seven appearances, scoring his first goal for Toronto FC III on June 17, 2018, against

Windsor TFC Windsor City FC (formerly Windsor Border Stars, Windsor Stars, and Windsor TFC) is a Canadian soccer team, based in Windsor, Ontario, that plays in League1 Ontario. The club was founded in 2004 and has previously competed in the Canadian Profe ...

. Nelson made his professional debut for

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

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 ...

on April 6, 2019, coming on as a substitute against

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at ...

. On January 23, 2020, Nelson signed a Homegrown Player contract with first-team

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. He made his MLS debut for Toronto during the MLS is Back tournament, starting their round of 16 match against

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

. He was loaned to the second team for some matches in 2021. He scored his first professional goal for Toronto FC II on June 16, 2021, against Fort Lauderdale CF. In December 2021, after the conclusion of the 2021 MLS season, Nelson joined Belgian club

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

for a training stint. He scored his first MLS goal on April 9, 2022, against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

Rosenborg

In February 2023, Toronto announced they had transferred Nelson to

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

side Rosenborg. He made his official debut on April 16 against

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

. Nelson scored his first goal for his new club on June 4 against

HamKam Hamarkameratene (), often abbreviated to HamKam or Ham-Kam, is a Norwegian professional football club based in the town of Hamar. The club was founded in 1918, originally under the name Freidig. HamKam were most recently promoted to the Elites ...

, netting the third goal in an eventual 4–0 victory. Nelson joined 2. Bundesliga club

SSV Ulm SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL e.V., commonly known as SSV Ulm 1846 or SSV Ulm, is a German football club based in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. SSV Ulm 1846 FUSSBALL was formed on 7 March 2009 as new independent club through the separation of the football ...

on loan in August 2024. Ulm also secured an option to sign him permanently.

Whitecaps FC

On January 24, 2025, Nelson returned to Canada, signing with

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 ...

side

. The contract is for a transfer through 2028 with an option for the following year. In Nelson's MLS debut with the Whitecaps, he would get a goal and three assists against the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

International career

Youth

Nelson attended his first Canadian youth camp in 2016. Nelson made his debut for the Canada national under-15 team in the

2017 CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship The 2017 CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship was an international football tournament, the second edition of the CONCACAF Boys' Under-15 Championship. The competition was set to feature up to 40 teams from the CONCACAF region. All times EDT ( ...

on August 13, 2017, against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Nelson made his debut for the Canada national under-17 team in the 2019 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship on May 2, 2019, against the

. Against

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

in the second game of the group stage, Nelson scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 win. Nelson scored twice more in the tournament – against Curaçao and

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

respectively – as Canada qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for the first time since 2013. At the end of 2019, Nelson was named the Canadian Men's Youth International Player of the Year. Nelson was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted association footbal ...

on February 26, 2020.

Senior

In January 2020, Nelson was called up to the Canadian senior team ahead of friendlies against

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. He made his debut on January 7 against Barbados, coming on as a substitute in a 4–1 victory and scored his first goal three days later, also against Barbados. In June 2023, Nelson was named to Canada's preliminary roster for the

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. Canada and the United ...

. Initially left off the roster, on June 26 he was called into the final squad along with Liam Fraser as replacements for

Sam Adekugbe Samuel Ayomide Adekugbe (born January 16, 1995) is a professional soccer player who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Born in England, he represents the Canada national team. Club career Vancouver Whiteca ...

and

Stephen Eustáquio Stephen Antunes Eustáquio ( ; born 21 December 1996) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Primeira Liga club Porto and vice-captains the Canada national team. After starting out at Nazarenos, he has spent mos ...

Personal life

Jayden was born in Canada and is of Jamaican descent. In 2022, Nelson made a donation to his former elementary school to restart a snack program which had been discontinued.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nelson goal.''

Honours

Toronto FC *

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual * Canadian Youth International Player of the Year: 2019

References

External links

Toronto FC player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Jayden 2002 births Living people Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Brampton Men's association football wingers Canada men's international soccer players Canada men's youth international soccer players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players League1 Ontario players Major League Soccer players Eliteserien players 2. Bundesliga players Homegrown Players (MLS) USL League One players Toronto FC Academy players Toronto FC II players Toronto FC players Rosenborg BK players SSV Ulm 1846 players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany 21st-century Canadian sportsmen