Ema Boateng

Ema Boateng
Personal information
Full nameEmmanuel Agyenim Boateng
Date of birthJanuary 17, 1994
Place of birthAccra, Ghana
Height167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Helsingborgs IF
Number20
Youth career
Cate School
2012UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2013Ventura County Fusion5(1)
2013–Helsingborgs IF18(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:55, 14 April 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Emmanuel Agyenim "Ema" Boateng (born January 17, 1994) is a Ghanaian soccer player currently with Helsingborgs IF of the Allsvenskan.[1]

Career

Youth and college

Boateng grew up in Ghana.[2] At the age of twelve he was picked to join the Right to Dream Academy where he combined studies with football training. When he turned 15, the academy gave him a scholarship to attend Cate School in the United States.[3] There he combined his studies with playing for the local clubs Santa Barbara Soccer Club and South Coast Strikers.[4]

In 2012, he received the annual Gatorade Player of the Year award for his performance on the pitch.[2][5] He then skipped the final year of high school to start college at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he played for the school team UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.[3]

Professional

During the summer of 2013, he played with the USL Premier Development League side Ventura County Fusion. After receiving an invitation to come and train with them from Swedish side Helsingborgs IF in the summer of 2013 Boateng paid for his own airplane ticket across the Atlantic Ocean to be able to visit the Allsvenskan club. He made a big impression and soon thereafter they signed him to a three-and-a-half-year contract in July 2013.[4][6][7]

Personal life

Outside of football, Boateng's ambition is to study to become a doctor.[5] His story was featured in The Beautiful Game, a 2012 documentary about football in Africa.[3] He has also appeared at age 15 in a story on the international news network CNN.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Swedish Football Association player profile". http://svenskfotboll.se'' (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Konecky, Chad (May 18, 2012). "Boateng nets National Player of the Year". http://espn.go.com''. ESPN. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brugger, Kelsey (June 21, 2013). "Meet Soccer Star Ema Boateng". Santa Barbara Independent (Santa Barbara, California). Archived from the original on July 31, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nilsson, Tomas (July 20, 2013). "Boateng gillar sitt nya gäng". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish) (Helsingborg, Sweden). Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Eskilson, J.R. (July 12, 2012). "From Ghana to Hollywood: Boateng's rise". http://www.topdrawersoccer.com''. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bird, Liviu (August 22, 2013). "Former UCSB standout scores first professional goals in Swedish Cup". http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com''. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ Ralph, Matt (July 23, 2013). "UCSB STAR EMA BOATENG SIGNS WITH SWEDISH FIRST DIVISION". http://www.recklesschallenge.net''. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ Tutton, Mark (April 15, 2010). "African football academy creates future stars". http://edition.cnn.com''. CNN. Retrieved April 14, 2015.

External links

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