Abdul Shakur Mohammed (born 27 August 2003) 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

and

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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 ...

club Orlando City. A

Right to Dream Academy Right to Dream is a youth association football academy system based in Ghana. It started in 1999 as a residential school and training center in Accra. It is owned by the Mansour Group. It is now a multi-club multi-academy group with branches i ...

graduate, Mohammed played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for two seasons at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

before being selected by Orlando City as the second-overall pick in the

2023 MLS SuperDraft The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but retained the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted via ...

Early life

Youth career

Born in

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

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 ...

, Mohammed graduated from the

before emigrating to the United States to complete his high school studies at

Millbrook School Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory boarding school located in Stanford, New York, United States. History Millbrook School was founded in 1931 by Edward Pulling. Pulling was a graduate of both Princeton University ...

Stanford, New York Stanford is a town in the north-central part of Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 3,628 at the 2020 census,US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report, Stanford town, Dutchess County, New York https://www.census.gov/search-re ...

. While at Millbrook he helped lead the school's soccer team to the Class C

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) is an organization that serves as the governing body for sports in preparatory schools and leagues in New England. The organization has 169 full member schools as well as 24 associate ...

(NEPSAC) Championship in 2018. He also played club soccer at Black Rock FC. In July 2020, Mohammed verbally committed to

and took summer classes to accelerate his high school graduation.

College career

Mohammed played two seasons of

as a two-year starter for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

between 2021 and 2022. As a freshman he totaled three goals and seven assists in 18 appearances. Duke reached the 2021 ACC tournament final before losing 2–0 to

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. Individually he was named ACC Freshman of the Year as well as All-ACC Second Team.

TopDrawerSoccer TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United States. The website was la ...

named him to the Freshman Best XI. In his second season, Mohammed started all 19 of Duke's games and led the team in scoring with 10 goals as well as registering two assists. He was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, earned All-ACC First Team and All-American First Team honours, and was a

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

semi-finalist.

Club career

Manhattan SC

While at college, Mohammed also played for Manhattan SC during the

2022 USL League Two season The 2022 USL League Two season is the 28th season of USL League Two. The regular season began on May 1 and ended on July 17. 113 teams participated in this season. The league reached a new high of 16 divisions after removing the Deep South divis ...

. On June 15, Mohammed made his club debut against the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Mit ...

, assisting in the lone winning goal and marking his only goal contribution for the team. In total, Mohammed made five appearances, including one in the playoffs, as the team topped the

Metropolitan Division The National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division (often referred to simply as the "Metro Division") was formed in 2013 as one of the two divisions in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference as part of a league realignment. It is als ...

Orlando City B

On March 26, 2023, Mohammed made his professional debut when he came on for Cristofer Acuña in the 67th-minute of a 3–1 win at

Philadelphia Union II Philadelphia Union II is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of ...

. On May 29, Mohammed scored his first goal for the reserve side when he netted the deciding goal of a 3–2 win over

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

. In Mohammed's debut season, he scored six goals and made four assists across 25 appearances, making him the second highest goalscorer and goal contributor for the team behind Jack Lynn. In the 2024 season, Mohammed tallied 11 goals and two assists across 27 appearances, making him the top goalscorer for the reserve side and third highest goal contributor behind Alex Freeman and Yutaro Tsukada.

Orlando City

In December 2022, Mohammed declared early for the

, signing a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

to forgo the remainder of his college eligibility. He was drafted in the first round (2nd overall) by Orlando City after the club traded away Ruan to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

earlier in the day to acquire the pick. On February 27, 2024, Mohammed made his debut for the club in round one of the

2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup The 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup was the 59th season of the North, Central America, and the Caribbean's premier club Association football, football tournament organized by CONCACAF, and the first since it was rebranded as the CONCACAF Champions Cu ...

when he started in a 3–1 win over

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches ...

before he came off in the 46-minute for

César Araújo César Nahuel Araújo Vilches (born 2 April 2001) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Orlando City and the Uruguay national team. Club career Montevideo Wanderers Growing up in Cerrito ...

. On March 18, Mohammed made his league debut when he came on as an 87th-minute substitute for

Nicolás Lodeiro Marcelo Nicolás Lodeiro Benítez (; born 21 March 1989), commonly known as Nicolás Lodeiro, is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo FC, Houst ...

in a 2–0 loss to

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

Career statistics

College

Club

Honours

Manhattan SC *

USL League Two 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 ...

Metropolitan Division: 2022 Individual * ACC Freshman of the Year: 2021 * ACC Offensive Player of the Year:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* NCAA First Team All-America: 2022 * All-ACC First Team:

References

External links

Shakur Mohammed
at Duke Blue Devils * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed, Shakur Living people 2003 births Ghanaian men's footballers Footballers from Kumasi Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players All-American college men's soccer players Orlando City SC draft picks Right to Dream Academy players Orlando City SC players USL League Two players Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Orlando City B players MLS Next Pro players Major League Soccer players 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen