Kayode McKinnon
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Kayode McKinnon (born November 28, 1979) is a Guyanese 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 ...
. He is also a soccer coach in 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 ...
. He currently is the C.E.O. of Kayode McKinnon & Co. where he trains athletes at all levels of the game, and the technical director of KM Soccer Academy (KMSA).


Club career

McKinnon began his professional career with Bakewell Topp XX in the
Guyana National Football League Guyana Football Federation (GFF) National Super League was the top division in Guyana. It was replaced by the GFF Elite League beginning with the 2015–16 GFF Elite League, 2015–16 season. The league used regional qualifying tournaments to de ...
, based in his hometown of Linden. He then joined Trinidadian team
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 ...
and won a league championship title in 2004. He went on to play seven seasons in the
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 ...
, including Joe Public and
Tobago United Tobago United Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, that played in Professional Football League of Trinidad. The team's home stadium was Dwight Yorke Stadium, 3 km from Scarborough, Tobago's main town. History Ensuring ...
. During this time he also played with
Caledonia AIA Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium. History The Caledonia AIA Football ...
, living in Spain (Las Palmas). Antigua Barracuda F.C., part of the
USL Professional League The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
, welcomed McKinnon for the 2011 season. He made his debut for the Barracudas on April 23 in a 3-2 win against
Sevilla FC Puerto Rico Sevilla FC Puerto Rico was a Puerto Rican professional association football team based in Juncos, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2006, the team used to play in the Puerto Rico Soccer League. The club was founded in 2006 as a farm team for the Puerto ...
.


International career

McKinnon made his first appearance for the
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
National Team in 2002 and has since gone on to win 25 caps, scoring 2 goals. He played in two of Guyana's qualification games for the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
, and again in qualification for the
2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
. He also played in the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
, taking the country's football ranking to the highest it had ever been to date. Though he has played extensively on the international stage, he has always been considered a Golden Jaguar (unofficial name for the
Guyana National Football Team The Guyana national football team, nicknamed the ''Golden Jaguars'', represents Guyana in international football and is controlled by the Guyana Football Federation. It is one of three South American nations to be a member of the Caribbean Fo ...
). Nicknamed "the magician" for his unique playing style, McKinnon is heralded as one of Guyana's most talented athletes in the sport.


Coaching career

Kayode McKinnon has coached professionally in the USA since 2012. He holds the FA level III-A (UEFA A) credential, the highest possible coaching license, among others. His development of an elite coaching system has taken his athletes to national recognition. As a coach he trains players at all levels of soccer/fútbol including varsity, collegiate, olympic, and professional.


Philanthropy

Kayo's Football Academy is the non-profit endeavor of Kayode McKinnon & Co. Founded in 2008, the organization provides elite coaching for disadvantaged children. The academy focuses on providing soccer training to athletes from ages 6 – 16 years, emphasizing all principles of the game from fundamentals to advanced techniques. It is based in
Linden, Guyana Linden is the second largest city in Guyana after Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, located at , altitude . It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie, Christianburg, ...
- McKinnon's hometown where he started playing soccer at 3 years old. McKinnon has also engaged in multiple charity events, the most prominent being a double
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
of the
Soesdyke-Linden Highway The Soesdyke-Linden Highway is a 2-lane highway that runs between Soesdyke and Linden in Guyana. The East Bank Public Road connects Soesdyke with Georgetown. Construction The Soesdyke-Linden highway was constructed between 1966 and 1968 by B ...
to raise funds for AIDS awareness.


Podcast

Kayode McKinnon currently hosts the Coach Kayo show every Saturday night where he discusses coaching tactics. This podcast is available on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and other streaming platforms.


References


External links

*
Kayode McKinnon
at Caribbean Football Database
Official website


Guyana {{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Kayode 1979 births Living people Guyanese men's footballers Guyana men's international footballers AC Port of Spain players TT Pro League players Morvant Caledonia United players Joe Public F.C. players Tobago United F.C. players Antigua Barracuda FC players USL Championship players Expatriate men's footballers in Trinidad and Tobago Men's association football midfielders Topp XX FC players People from Linden, Guyana