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Ahinga Selemani

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Ahinga Selemani
Personal information
Full name Ahinga Bienvenu Selemani
Date of birth (1996-03-15) March 15, 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Windsor Internationals
Michigan Tigers FC
2009–2014 Michigan CSA Wolves
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Michigan Wolverines 18 (3)
2015–2016 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 43 (12)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 AFC Ann Arbor
2016 Ventura County Fusion 1 (0)
2017 Panetolikos 0 (0)
2018–2019 Vlašim 15 (2)
2018–2019 Vlašim B
2019–2020 Hawke's Bay United 16 (10)
2020 Lincoln Red Imps
2021 Cavalry FC 17 (3)
2022 Gudja United 20 (4)
2023 One Knoxville SC 15 (0)
2023 Valour FC 10 (0)
International career‡
2012–2013 United States U17 4+ (2+)
2013–2014 United States U18
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 29, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 31, 2014

Ahinga Bienvenu Selemani (born March 15, 1996) is a professional soccer player. Born in Canada, he represented the United States at youth international level.

Early life

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Selemani was born in Canada in Moncton, New Brunswick, later moving to Windsor, Ontario as a child, before moving to the United States and being raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[1][2] He began playing youth soccer in Canada with Windsor Internationals.[3] From 2009 to 2014, he played with the Michigan CSA Wolves.[4] He attended Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, where he won the district championship with the soccer team in 2011 and was named to the All-State team.[5]

College career

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In February 2014, he committed to attend the University of Michigan, where he played for the men's soccer team.[6] He made his collegiate debut on August 29 against the FIU Panthers.[7] He scored his first goal on October 26 against the Indiana Hoosiers.[8] At the end of the season, he was named to the Big Ten Conference All-Freshman Team.[9]

In 2015, he transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara to play for their soccer team.[10] He scored his first goal on September 6, 2015, against the [11][12] On November 11, he scored against the UC Davis Aggies, to propel the team to the Big West Tournament final.[13] At the end of the season, he was named to the All-Big West Conference Second Team.[14] On October 10, 2016, he earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors.[15] The following week, he was again named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week and was also named to the College Soccer News Team of the Week.[16][17] At the end of the season, he was named to the All-Big West First Team.[18] He chose to not return for his senior season in 2017 to instead pursue a professional career.[19]

Club career

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In 2015, he played in the Premier Development League with AFC Ann Arbor in the Great Lakes Premier League.[20]

In 2016, he played with the Ventura County Fusion in the Premier Development League.[21]

In February 2017, Selemani went on trial with Superleague Greece side Panetolikos.[22][23] He subsequently signed a three-year contract with the club.[24][25] In August 2017, he mutually terminated his contract, without having appeared in an official match, electing to return to North America.[26][27]

In July 2018, Selemani signed with second tier Czech National Football League side Vlašim.[28] He also spent some time with their B team in the sixth tier I.A Class, including scoring a hat trick May 20, 2019 against Úvaly.[29]

In October 2019, Selemani signed with New Zealand Football Championship side Hawke's Bay United.[30] He scored 10 goals and added 6 assists in 16 games that season, winning the Hawke's Bay's player of the season award.[31] He was also a runner-up in the league MVP race and was the team's Player's choice player of the year and Coach's choice player of the year.[citation needed]

In July 2020, he joined Gibraltar National League team Lincoln Red Imps.[32][33]

In December 2020, he signed with Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC for the 2021 season.[34][35] He scored his first goals for the club on June 30, netting a brace in a 4–1 victory over Atlético Ottawa.[36][37]

In January 2022, he signed a short-term deal with Gudja United in the Maltese Premier League.[38][39]

In late December 2022, he joined USL League One side One Knoxville SC, ahead of the 2023 season.[40][41]

In July 2023, Selemani returned to the Canadian Premier League, signing with Valour FC.[42] He made his debut on July 23, in a substitute appearance against York United FC.[43]

International career

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Selemani was born in Canada to parents from the DR Congo, and moved to the United States at a young age, and is eligible for all three national teams.[1] In 2012, he began playing with the United States U17 as a member of their residency program. On November 28, 2012, he scored in a friendly against Brazil U17.[44] He was named to the squad for the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, scoring a goal against Haiti U17.[45] In 2013 and 2014, he was selected to the United States U18 for various tournaments.[46][47] He also spent some time with the United States U20.[48]

Career statistics

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As of August 6, 2023[49]
Club statistics
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ventura County Fusion 2016[21] Premier Development League 1 0 — 0 0 1 0
Panetolikos 2017–18 Superleague Greece 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Vlašim 2018–19 Czech National Football League 15 2 — 1 0 16 2
Hawke's Bay United 2019–20 New Zealand Premiership 16 10 — — 16 10
Lincoln Red Imps 2020–21 Gibraltar National League ? ? — ? ? ? ?
Cavalry FC 2021 Canadian Premier League 17 3 0 0 1 0 18 3
Gudja United 2021–22 Maltese Premier League 10 3 — 2 1 12 4
2022–23 11 1 — 0 0 11 1
Total 20 4 2 1 1 0 23 5
One Knoxville SC 2023 USL League One 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Valour FC 2023 Canadian Premier League 3 0 — 0 0 3 0
Career total 87 19 0 0 4 1 92 20

  1. ^ Includes appearances in the Czech Cup, Canadian Championship and Maltese FA Trophy.

References

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  1. ^ a b Tait, Ed (July 27, 2023). "Ahinga Selemani: "I don't think people realize the beauty of the CPL at times"". Valour FC.
  2. ^ Jacques, John (July 22, 2023). "Report: Selemani Set For CPL Return". Northern Tribune.
  3. ^ "Ahinga Selemani: 1-on-1 with Cavalry FC's new forward". Canadian Premier League. March 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Ahinga Selemani Michigan profile". Michigan Wolverines.
  5. ^ "Ahinga Selemani UC Santa Barbara profile". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
  6. ^ "Daley Announces Signing of Top Class in School History". Michigan Wolverines. February 12, 2014.
  7. ^ "U-M Falls to FIU in 2014 Season Opener". Michigan Wolverines. August 29, 2014.
  8. ^ "Michigan Cannot Sustain Early Advantage, Falls to No. 8 Indiana". Michigan Wolverines. October 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "McAtee, Arnone Garner All-Big Ten Honors; Two Earn All-Freshman". Michigan Wolverines. November 12, 2014.
  10. ^ "Men's Soccer Adds Five Marquee Transfers to No. 5 Ranked Recruiting Class". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. February 5, 2015.
  11. ^ "UCSB Falls to Host Lobos in New Mexico Tournament". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. September 6, 2015.
  12. ^ "MSoc: Selemani's first goal not enough for Gauchos". Presidio Sports. September 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Punzal, Barry (November 11, 2015). "MSoc: Selemani's goal lifts Gauchos into Big West final". Presidio Sports.
  14. ^ "DePuy, Acheampong, Vom Steeg Garner Big West Accolades, Nine Gauchos Named to All-Conference Team". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. November 3, 2015.
  15. ^ "Selemani Named Player of the Week, Gauchos Set to Host Sac State". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. October 10, 2016.
  16. ^ "Selemani Garners Weekly Honors From Big West, College Soccer News". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. October 17, 2016.
  17. ^ "Big Plays Lead Selemani, Elias To Weekly Recognition". Big West Conference. October 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "DePuy Makes History as Nine Gauchos Named All-Big West". UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. November 1, 2016.
  19. ^ "UC Santa Barbara 2017 Team and Recruiting Class Review". College Soccer News. March 8, 2017.
  20. ^ Hicks, Justin P. (May 25, 2015). "AFC Ann Arbor drops 2-1 Memorial Day Classic match to Michigan Sporting". MLive Media Group.
  21. ^ a b "Ahinga Selemani 2016 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
  22. ^ "Τσεκάρει Σελεμανί ο Παναιτωλικός!" [Panaitolikos Selemani checks!]. Αγρίνιο Culture (in Greek). February 7, 2017.
  23. ^ "Αυτός είναι ο Σελεμανί που δοκιμάζει ο Παναιτωλικός!" [This is Selemani that Panaitolikos is testing!]. Talent About (in Greek). February 17, 2017.
  24. ^ "Έφυγε από τον Παναιτωλικό ο Σελεμανί" [Selemani left Panaitolikos]. Sport24 (in Greek). August 23, 2017.
  25. ^ Ντυμένος, Γιώργος (Dymenos, Giorgos) (February 16, 2017). "Το "λαβράκι" του Παναιτωλικού που λέγεται Σελεμανί" [The "bass" of Panaitolikos called Selemani]. Gazzetta (in Greek).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Τέλος ο Σελεμανί!" [Finally Selemani!]. Agrinio Sports (in Greek). August 23, 2017.
  27. ^ Ντυμένος, Γιώργος (Dymenos, Giorgos) (August 23, 2017). "Παναιτωλικός: Παρελθόν ο Σελεμανί" [Panaitolikos: Past Selemani]. Gazzetta (in Greek).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Hammerová, Lída (July 20, 2018). "Fotbalisté Vlašimi chtějí být opět v první polovině tabulky" [Vlašimi footballers want to be in the first half of the table again]. Domaci Noviny (in Czech).
  29. ^ Paýr, Jiří (May 20, 2019). "Výhru béčka režíroval Selemani" [The win was directed by Selemani]. FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim (in Czech).
  30. ^ Singh, Anendra (October 30, 2019). "Football: Hawke's Bay United inject pivotal import trio to provide impetus". Hawke's Bay Today.
  31. ^ "Everything you need to know about Cavalry's Ahinga Selemani". Eikon Sports. December 10, 2020.
  32. ^ "New Signings: Three Added to the Squad". Lincoln Red Imps FC. July 27, 2020.
  33. ^ "Ahinga Selemani joins European club". Oceania Football Center. July 27, 2020.
  34. ^ "Cavalry FC signs Canadian Born Ahinga Selemani to the 2021 Roster". Cavalry FC. December 10, 2020.
  35. ^ Jacques, John (December 10, 2020). "Cavalry FC Inks Dual National Ahinga Selemani". Northern Tribune.
  36. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 30, 2023). "Highlights: Selemani brace lifts Cavalry past Atlético Ottawa in 4-1 win". Canadian Premier League.
  37. ^ Saelhof, Todd (June 30, 2021). "Cavalry, Selemani cruise to bubble's second win over Atletico Ottawa". Calgary Sun.
  38. ^ Jacques, John (January 9, 2022). "Ahinga Selemani Lands In Malta". Northern Tribune.
  39. ^ "Gudja United sign Canadian forward Ahinga Selemani". Times of Malta. January 11, 2022.
  40. ^ "Signed: Ahinga Selemani". One Knoxville SC. 27 December 2022.
  41. ^ Jacques, John (December 28, 2022). "Selemani Signs With One Knoxville SC". Northern Tribune.
  42. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian forward Ahinga Selemani". Valour FC. July 22, 2023.
  43. ^ Tierney, Mitchell (July 23, 2023). "Highlights: Valour FC 1-2 York United — CPL Match #65". Canadian Premier League.
  44. ^ Sharrett, Cody (November 29, 2012). "Selemani scores, Swanson goes 90 in eight goal thriller vs. Brazil". Columbus Crew.
  45. ^ "U.S. U-17 Men's National Team opens CONCACAF Championship with 3-0 win over Haiti". Soccerwire. August 8, 2013.
  46. ^ Sharrett, Cody (October 2, 2013). "CSA's Selemani, Swanson named to U.S. U-18 roster for France Tournament". Columbus Crew.
  47. ^ Sharrett, Cody. "Selemani, Swanson included on U.S. U-18 roster". Columbus Crew.
  48. ^ "Τσεκάρει Σελεμανί ο Παναιτωλικός" [Panaitolikos checks Selemani]. Agrinio Press (in Greek). February 7, 2017.
  49. ^ Ahinga Selemani at Soccerway
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