19 Facts About Ayo Akinola

Ayo Akinola graduated from St Marguerite d'Youville Secondary School in 2018.

Ayo Akinola was called up to the Toronto FC II set-up for the 2016 USL season.

Ayo Akinola finished the season with two goals from 10 appearances.

Ayo Akinola tried out for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven in November 2017.

On December 18,2017, Ayo Akinola signed as a homegrown player with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.

Ayo Akinola became the 15th player to graduate from the TFC Academy and sign for the first team, and the 34th academy graduate to sign a professional contract for one of the Toronto FC teams.

On March 17,2019, Ayo Akinola scored his first ever MLS goal in Toronto FC's home opener against the New England Revolution.

Ayo Akinola scored a hat-trick in his team's second game of the tournament against the Montreal Impact.

Ayo Akinola finished the 2020 season as the co-leading scorer for Toronto with Alejandro Pozuelo, both of whom scored 9 goals, although Pozuelo played nearly twice as many minutes.

In July 2021, Ayo Akinola had an ACL injury while on international duty with Canada, resulting in him missing the remainder of the 2021 season.

Ayo Akinola was eligible to play internationally for the United States, Canada, and Nigeria, due to birth, residency, and heritage, respectively.

Ayo Akinola scored his first goal against Brazil in March 2016, before scoring a brace against Russia a few days later.

Ayo Akinola was called up to the US senior team for their friendly match on December 9,2020, against El Salvador.

Ayo Akinola scored a goal in his debut for the Americans against El Salvador, taking a knee and raising a fist in the air following his goal in a show of support for the racial equality movement.

Ayo Akinola accepted an invitation to a Canada training camp held in January 2021, but was forced to withdraw for health reasons.

Ayo Akinola then accepted an invitation to join the Canadian team for training prior to their World Cup qualifying matches on May 29,2021.

Ayo Akinola was named to Canada's 60-man preliminary squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 18,2021.

Ayo Akinola ruptured his ACL in the 24th minute of that match, effectively ruling him out of not only the remainder of the tournament, but the rest of the club season with Toronto FC.

Ayo Akinola's younger brother Tom is a soccer player and was a member of the TFC Academy and has attended a Canadian under-14 camp.