Kofi Opare (born October 12, 1990) is a Ghanaian 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. He has previously appeared for

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In ...

, Detroit City,

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

, D.C. United, and

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

Early life

Opare was born on October 12, 1990, in

Mampong Mampong is a town and the capital of the Mampong Municipal District, Mampong Municipal in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. As of 2012, the town has a population of 42,037 people. The town is home to the ''Mamponghene'', Nana Osei Bonsu II. Histo ...

, Ghana. His family lived in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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 ...

before settling in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the ...

, Canada.

Career

College and amateur

After spending his youth career with St. Catharines Concord Gunners, Opare committed to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

on March 4, 2009, where he would spend all four years of his college career. In his freshman year with the Wolverines, Opare made 14 appearances and scored his first collegiate goal on September 11 in a 3–0 victory over Wright State. He also went on to be named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he made 25 appearances and helped lead Michigan to the College Cup semi-final where they would fall 2–1 to the eventual champion

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

. In 2011, Opare started all 20 games for the Wolverines and finished the year with two goals and one assist and was also named All-Big Ten Second Team. In his final season with Michigan, Opare made 17 appearances and finished the year with three goals. During his time in college, Opare also played for

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

and for Detroit City in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

Professional

On January 17, 2013, Opare was selected in the second round (24th overall) of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft by

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. He signed his first professional contract with the club on March 11. On August 20, Opare made his professional debut for the club in a 2–0 victory over Costa Rican side Cartaginés in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

. Opare was traded to D.C. United in July 2014 with a second-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for a swap in places in the MLS allocation order. He scored his first goal for United on May 13, 2015, against Orlando City. Opare stayed with D.C. through the 2018 season, at which time the club declined his 2019 contract option. On February 25, 2019, Opare joined

. His contract option was declined by the Rapids for the 2020 season.

International

Opare was called up to a training camp in Trinidad and Tobago with the U.S. U-20 national team by Thomas Rongen in January 2009 ahead of the

2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship was the biannual CONCACAF youth championship tournament for under-20 national teams. The 2009 edition was held in Trinidad and Tobago. All matches were played at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago and ...

. During the camp, the U.S played against the Trinidad U-17 team. However, the then 18-year-old Opare was not called up to CONCACAF U-20 Championship roster as he was not eligible to play. In May 2008

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

had updated their regulations with immediate effect and required that players reside "continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant Association" to become eligible to play for a national team in a competitive game. It was a measure put in place by FIFA to prevent countries offering citizenship to talented footballers and allowing them to play for the national team immediately despite not having any ties to the country. The change in regulations meant that despite living in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

for four years as a teenager, Opare would not be eligible to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

irrespective of holding citizenship unless he lives there for five years after the age of 18, Opare could however represent

U.S. 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 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in competitive football as he meets those requirements for the U.S. Opare is also eligible to play for

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, the nation where he was born.

Personal

Opare holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
University of Michigan bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opare, Kofi Living people 1990 births Ghanaian men's footballers Footballers from Ashanti Region Ghanaian emigrants to Canada Men's association football defenders Michigan Wolverines men's soccer players Flint City Bucks players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy players Ventura County FC players D.C. United players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players USL League Two players National Premier Soccer League players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen