Akeem García

Akeem Ancil García (born 9 November 1996) is a Trinidadian football coach and player.

Akeem García
Akeem García smiling as he meets young fans at the stadium
García with HFX Wanderers FC in 2022
Personal information
Full name Akeem Ancil García
Date of birth (1996-11-09) 9 November 1996
Place of birth Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Arima Ball Masters
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 San Juan Jabloteh
2014–2017 W Connection (5)
2017 North East Stars 12 (4)
2018 Santa Rosa 16 (5)
2019–2022 HFX Wanderers 68 (19)
International career‡
2011–2013 Trinidad and Tobago U17 6 (2)
2012–2015 Trinidad and Tobago U20 10 (0)
2015– Trinidad and Tobago 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 October 2022
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2019

Club career

Early career

García began playing football at age six with local club Arima Ball Masters.[1] At age 17, García signed for TT Pro League side San Juan Jabloteh.[1]

W Connection

In 2014, García signed with W Connection, scoring five goals in two league appearances that season.[2] He received great recognition for his play that year and earned his first senior national team call-up in early 2015.[1] Later that year during tryouts for the Trinidad and Tobago U23 team, García tore his ACL and after undergoing surgery missed a total of twelve months while recovering.[1]

North East Stars

In 2017, García signed for his hometown club, North East Stars.[1] He went on to score four goals in twelve league appearances that season as North East Stars won the TT Pro League, García's first league title.[2] García also added another seven goals in other competitions that year.[1]

Santa Rosa

In 2018, García followed North East Stars manager Derek King to TT Super League side Santa Rosa.[3] That season, he scored five goals in sixteen league appearances and ten goals in all competitions as Santa Rosa won the league title.[2][3][4] After the end of the season, García spent two weeks on trial with Mexican Ascenso MX side Celaya.[1]

HFX Wanderers
García with the Wanderers in 2019

2019

On 10 January 2019, García signed with Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers, where Derek King had signed as an assistant manager.[3] García scored the first goal in Wanderers history in the team's home opener on 4 May 2019.[5] García finished the season with a team-leading seven league goals in 24 appearances, tying for seventh among the league's top scorers.[5] On 7 November 2019, García re-signed with Halifax for the 2020 season.[6]

2020

García excelled in the shortened 2020 Canadian Premier League season. He was a major part of Halifax's drastic turnaround from their previous last place finish, and the Wanderers made it all the way to the final, where they were defeated by Forge FC. In total, García scored six goals in 10 matches, winning the Golden Boot.[7] On 3 November 2020, García re-signed with Halifax for the 2021 season.[8]

2021

García struggled to maintain his form from the previous season, managing to only score 2 goals in 22 appearances. The team as a whole was also unable to match their performance from 2020 and finished sixth in the league.[9] However, the forward was re-signed for the following season, as well.[10]

2022

During the 2022 CPL season, due to the ACL injury occurred to João Morelli,[11] García once again became the team's main attacking choice, together with Samuel Salter. He ended the year with four goals in 13 appearances, as the Wanderers finished second-to-last in the league table, missing out on the Finals for the second consecutive time.

At the end of the season, Halifax announced that García would put his playing career on hold, in order to work as a coach at a local grassroots club in Nova Scotia.[12][13]

International career

Youth

García received his first youth call-up for Trinidad and Tobago as a 14 year-old at the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, but did not appear in the tournament.[5] García was called up again in the following U17 cycle and played in all three matches of the Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, scoring goals against the British Virgin Islands and Suriname.[5] After Trinidad and Tobago qualified, García was called up again for the finals tournament, appearing in all three matches for Trinidad and Tobago against Canada, Costa Rica and the quarter-final loss to Panama.[5]

As a 15 year-old, García first represented his country at the under-20 level in qualifying for the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, making five appearances as Trinidad and Tobago ultimately failed to qualify.[5] García was also eligible for the following U20 cycle and appeared in all five matches for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[5]

García attended trials for the Trinidad and Tobago U23 team ahead of the Caribbean qualifying tournament for the 2015 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship, but missed the tournament after tearing his ACL.[1]

Senior

García earned his first cap for the Trinidad and Tobago senior national team on 27 March 2015 in a friendly against Panama. He played the final 26 minutes of the match in a 0–1 loss.[14]

Following strong performances in the Canadian Premier League, on 4 October 2019 García was recalled to the national side for a CONCACAF Nations League match against Honduras on 10 October and a friendly against Venezuela on 14 October.[15]

Personal life

García was born in Chaguanas and grew up in the Calvary area of Arima.[1]

Career statistics
As of 9 October 2022[2][5]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
W Connection 2014–15 TT Pro League 25000025
North East Stars 2017 TT Pro League 124?0?71211
Santa Rosa 2018 TT Super League 165—?51610
HFX Wanderers 2019 Canadian Premier League 24741—288
2020 Canadian Premier League 960010106
2021 Canadian Premier League 22220—242
2022 Canadian Premier League 13421—155
Total 681982107721
Career total 9833821010735
  1. Includes appearances in the Canadian Championship.

Honours

Club

W Connection

North East Stars

Santa Rosa

HFX Wanderers

Individual

References
  1. Gary Griffiths (3 October 2019). "Akeem Garcia: The boy from Arima". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  2. "Akeem Garcia". Soca Warriors Online. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. Gareth Hampshire (10 January 2019). "Wanderers announce first ever international player signings as Trinidad and Tobago quartet". HFX Wanderers FC. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. "Akeem Garcia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  5. "A. Garcia". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. Gareth Hampshire (7 November 2019). "Wanderers leading scorer Akeem Garcia returning for 2020". HFX Wanderers FC. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  7. "HFX Wanderers FC's Akeem Garcia collects 2020 CPL Golden Boot Award". Canadian Premier League. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. "HFX Wanderers announce 12 returnees for 2021; N'Sa, Béland-Goyette released". Canadian Premier League. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  9. "HFX Wanderers: 2022 Canadian Premier League Season Preview". Halifax Wanderers. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  10. "Halifax Wanderers 2022 Roster Update". Halifax Wanderers. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  11. "HFX Wanderers' João Morelli to miss rest of 2022 season with torn ACL". Canadian Premier League. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  12. "'Excited to share my experience': Akeem Garcia taking a break from football to pursue coaching opportunity in Halifax". Halifax Wanderers. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  13. Jacques, John (28 October 2022). "Akeem Garcia Switches Focus To Coaching Career". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  14. "Trinidad and Tobago vs. Panama, 27 March 2015". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  15. Hampshire, Gareth (4 October 2019). "Wanderers' Garcia called up to Trinidad and Tobago squad".
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