The Liberian Canadian under-23 midfielder, Hanson Tamba Boakai, has moved to Romania to continue his professional football career.
The 21-year-old ended his long break from football to join Romanian Lig II club, Football Club Uta Amar. He signed a one-year deal with the club as a free agent.
Boakai joined his third European club in the space of two years after spending the 2016 season with Croatian Second Football League club, Nogometni klub Dugopolje and former Swedish Division One club, Landskrona Boll och Idrottsallskap, which announced his contract termination in November 2016.
Boakai was born to Liberian parents in Teldou, Guinea during the civil war in Liberia. He was born on October 28, 1996, and moved to Edmonton, Canada with his parents at the age of seven. In Canada, a young Boakai began playing football with Edmonton-based academy team Xtreme Football Cub, where he was spotted by North American Soccer League club FC Edmonton in 2011.
Still trying to develop as a professional footballer, Boakai was sent to FC Edmonton’s reserve team, where he spent two years. His performance with FC Edmonton’s reserve earned him a place on the senior team despite being under 18. He became the youngest player ever signed by an NASL club. On June 6, 2013, he made his debut for FC Edmonton, coming in as a substitute for Indian-born Canadian, Sadi Jalali, against the Carolina Railhawks in the 65th minute. His introduction against the Railhawks made him the youngest ever player to play an NASL game.
While at FC Edmonton, Boakai played at all youth levels for Canada. He made one appearance for the under-15 team, seven appearances for the under-17 team, nine appearances at the under-20 level, and five appearances for the U23 team. He scored two goals for the U17 and one for the U17 while failing to score for the U15 and U23 teams.
His contract with Edmonton ran out after the 2015 season, and he opted to take up a new challenge in Europe. His first move to Europe landed him in Croatia where he joined second division club, Nogometni klub Dugopolje. He didn’t make an appearance for the Croatian side and moved to Landskrona in the Swedish division one. He completed 117 minutes for the Swedish side in four matches before joining FC UTA Arad.
Boakai completed a deal to joined FC UTA in October but was unable to make an appearance until November due to difficulties in getting his work permit. After almost a month with the club, he made his debut on November 11 against Targu Mures. He came on in the 69th minute to replace Romanian midfielder, Paul Pacurar as FC UTA bowed to a 2-1 defeat.
Despite Boakai representing Canada at the youth levels, he can still give the Lone Star of Liberia an option on the wings as he hasn’t yet made an appearance for the Canadian senior national team.
Featured photo courtesy of FC Edmonton
