Zachary Joseph Eli Sukunda (born June 24, 1995) is a Canadian

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 for Estonian club

Kalev Kalev may refer to: * Kalev (mythology), a character from Estonian mythology * Kalev (given name), an Estonian masculine given name * Kalev (confectioner), an Estonian sweets company * BC Kalev, a basketball club based in Tallinn, Estonia * BC ...

in the

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...

Early life

Sukunda was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He began playing youth soccer with Brockville SC, before moving on to

Ottawa South United Ottawa South United is a Canadian semi-professional association football, soccer team based in Manotick, Ontario, a community in the rural south part of Ottawa that plays in Ligue1 Québec. The club previously competed in League1 Ontario. The cl ...

and then to the Ottawa Fury Academy. He later played youth soccer with AS Hull. In 2011, after attending a scouting camp in Toronto, he was invited to trial and then play with the youth system of French club

AJ Auxerre Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise (), commonly known as AJ Auxerre or by the abbreviation AJA, is a French professional association football, football club based in the Communes of France, commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club plays in L ...

. In 2012, Sukunda joined the

Montreal Impact Academy Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Club career

In 2015, he began his senior career, signing with the Montreal Impact's second team

FC Montreal FC Montreal was a Canadian professional association football, soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that played in the USL Championship, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. The team served as a reserve team of Major ...

in the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

. He made his professional debut on April 18, 2015 against the

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

. He scored his first professional goal on June 21, 2016, in a 3-2 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders. After the 2016 season, the club ceased operation, resulting in Sekunda having to find a new club. In March 2017, Sukunda signed with Swedish

Division 1 Norra Ettan Fotboll, or simply Ettan (), which also is its common name in everyday speech, is the third level in the Swedish football league system and consists of 32 Swedish football teams. It was formerly simply known as ''Division 1''. Division 1 ...

club

Umeå FC Umeå FC is a Swedish professional football club located in Umeå, Sweden. The club, formed in 1987, is currently playing in the third tier of the Swedish league, Ettan. The club is affiliated to the Västerbottens Fotbollförbund. Season to se ...

. In December, he left the club. In December 2017, Sukunda signed with Australian club

Hume City FC Hume City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Broadmeadows, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established by the local Turkish Australian community, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria. ...

of the

NPL Victoria The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer league syste ...

. In June 2018, Sukunda joined

Northcote City FC Northcote City Football Club (Iraklis) is a soccer club based on the border of Thornbury and Northcote, Victoria (Australia). Formed in 1960 by local Greek Australians, the club currently competes in the Victoria Premier League 1. In 2011, ...

. In November 2018, Sukunda was announced as the first ever signing for

HFX Wanderers FC Halifax Wanderers FC, also written as HFX Wanderers FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at the top of the Canadian soccer league syste ...

of the new

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

. After the 2019 season, the club declined his option for the 2020 season and despite interest from other CPL clubs, he sought a return to Europe instead. In December 2019, Sukunda signed with Finnish

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

side

Ekenäs IF Ekenäs Idrottsförening (abbreviated EIF or Ekenäs IF) is a sports club from Ekenäs, Raseborg in Finland. EIF was formed in 1905 and they are one of the oldest clubs in the south-west of Finland. The men's football first team currently play ...

for the 2020 season. In February 2021, he signed with

PEPO Lappeenranta PEPO Lappeenranta (abbreviated PEPO, earlier Uus-Lavolan Peli-Pojat) is a Finnish football club from Uus-Lavola, Lappeenranta. The club was formed in 1958 and their home ground is at the Kimpinen Sports Centre. The men's first team currently ...

. After the 2021 season, he signed an extension for the 2022 season. In January 2023, Sukunda joined

Gnistan IF Gnistan (''Kipinä'' in Finnish; ''The Spark'' in English), commonly known as Gnistan, is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Veikkausliiga, the first tier of the Finnish le ...

in Finland. He helped Gnistan reach second place in the table, however, they lost in the promotion playoff final, failing to earn promotion. In December 2023, he returned to the Canadian Premier League and signed with

Valour FC Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium. The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...

, ahead of the 2024 season. In January 2025, Sukunda signed with Estonian club

in the

Personal life

Sukunda is the son of

Eli Sukunda Eli Sukunda (born 10 April 1949) is a Canadian fencer. He competed at the 1976 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Biography Sukunda began as a track and field athlete. He came 2nd at OFSAA All Ontario championships in the junior 120-yard hurdles. At th ...

, a fencer who competed at the

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Career statistics

Honours

Gnistan *

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sukunda, Zachary 1995 births Soccer players from Ottawa Franco-Ontarian people Living people Men's association football fullbacks Canadian men's soccer players AJ Auxerre players CF Montréal U23 players FC Montreal players Umeå FC players Hume City FC players Northcote City FC players HFX Wanderers FC players Ekenäs IF players PEPO Lappeenranta players IF Gnistan players Valour FC players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players USL Championship players Ettan Fotboll players Victorian Premier League players Canadian Premier League players Kakkonen players Ykkönen players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in France Canadian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's footballers in Finland Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Finland 21st-century Canadian sportsmen JK Tallinna Kalev players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Estonia