Toronto FC teenager Ayo Akinola in demand when it comes to international game
TORONTO — Born in Detroit to Nigerian parents and raised in Canada, Toronto FC teenage forward Ayo Akinola has options when it comes to playing internationally.
That’s true despite the fact that Akinola helped the U.S. to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India last year. While U.S. Soccer got to Akinola first, the 18-year-old can still make a one-time switch in international allegiance.
Spicing up the story is the fact that Akinola’s 17-year-old brother Tom, a member of the TFC academy, attended a Canadian youth identification camp in 2015. Tom was born in Toronto but could play for the U.S. through his father, who now has American citizenship.
Nigerian soccer officials have also reached out to Ayo Akinola. As has the Canadian Soccer Association, which has told him where they think he could fit into the program, both short- and long-term.