Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Harrison Afful was on born July 24, 1986 in Tema, Ghana. He is a fullback in Major League Soccer.

Afful joined the Feyenoord Academy after being discovered as a youth by Sam Arday. He rose through the youth ranks to the first team, appearing 148 times and scoring 11 goals in all competitions for the Academy. Afful went on a trial with Feyenoord, the Academy's parent club, in 2008 but after four weeks was released without a contract. He also spent time training with Stabæk, Helsingborgs IF, and Mamelodi Sundowns but returned to Ghana after failing to land a contract. Following the Feyenoord Academy's relegation to the Division One League, Afful returned to the Ghana Premier League with a loan to Asante Kotoko. The move was made possible through a clause in Jordan Opoku's contract. He had been bought by Kotoko the year before, and his contract allowed Asante Kotoko to choose one player to bring in on loan from the Academy. They exercised it by choosing Afful. He impressed Kotoko head coach Bashir Hayford with his performance during a 10-minute cameo in a friendly match, allowing him to break into the first team after initially appearing to be outside Hayford's plans. He made his league debut for the club and scored in a 3–0 victory against All Blacks on December 2, 2007. Afful was named as the league's Player of the Year as Asante Kotoko won the Ghana Premier League title in 2007–08. Upon the expiration of his initial one-year loan, he returned to the Feyenoord Academy and undertook multiple trials in Europe and elsewhere in Africa. Those trials proved unsuccessful, and Afful returned to Asante Kotoko on loan for the second half of the 2008–09 season. He finished his time on loan with five goals from 68 appearances in all competitions. Upon the expiration of his loan deal, Kotoko reportedly opened talks for a permanent transfer, but were unable to reach a deal with the Academy.

After four years of professional football, Afful left Ghana for the first time to join ES Tunis of the Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. He played the next six seasons with Tunis, appearing for the club more than 180 times. Tunis won four league titles during Afful's time there, appeared in three CAF Champions League finals, and won the 2011 CAF Champions League Final; Afful scored the only goal over the two legs.
After his contract with Tunis expired at the end of June, Afful joined Major League Soccer (MLS) club Columbus Crew SC as a Discovery Signing. Although the transfer was announced on July 30, 2015, Afful was only added to the roster after securing his visa and thus had to wait to make his club debut until August 19th. He started a 2–2 draw with New York City FC, playing 60 minutes before being replaced by Hector Jiménez. Afful missed several matches while on international duty but returned to start every game in Crew SC's run to MLS Cup 2015. Afful made 14 appearances in his first season in Columbus and had his contract option picked up by the club on December 7th.

Afful was rumored to be leaving Columbus ahead of the 2016 season, with reports from his native Ghana claiming that he would be joining Mersin İdman Yurdu when his contract expired at the end of 2015. No transfer came to pass, however, and he returned to Columbus for his first full season with the Black and Gold. Although Afful again missed time while appearing with Ghana, he did find the time to score his first MLS goal: a 54th-minute strike against Toronto FC on July 13th. He added two more goals in the final month of the season, scoring in a victory over Chicago Fire on October 1st and a defeat against New York Red Bulls in the season finale on October 16th. Afful finished the season with three goals and three assists from 30 appearances.

Afful's 2017 season was marred by injuries: a knee laceration in March, a sliced nerve in his hand in April, a thigh strain in late summer, and a sprained foot in October. Although he did not score during the regular season, he found the back of the net in the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. In the first leg of the conference semifinals against New York City FC, Afful scored three minutes into stoppage time to give Columbus a 4–1 victory; that goal would end up being the difference as the club advanced by a 4–3 aggregate scoreline. He finished the season with one goal from 29 appearances and again had his contract option picked up by Crew SC.

Afful bounced back in 2018 with two goals and six assists from 35 total appearances. In one three-game span in July and August, he provided an assist in each match and helped Columbus claim three consecutive victories. Afful tallied the third-most shots on the team, behind only Gyasi Zardes and Pedro Santos but tallied just two goals: against San Jose Earthquakes in April and New York City FC in September. He added an assist in the knockout round of the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, helping Columbus to advance on penalties over D.C. United.

After an injury-free 2018, Afful was limited to just 24 appearances in all competitions over the course of the 2019 season. In a home match against Atlanta United on March 30th, he collided with countryman Jonathan Mensah and suffered a fractured jaw. Afful missed eleven matches due to the injury, returning on June 11th and making his U.S. Open Cup debut in a victory over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Although he did not score on the year, Afful provided two assists over a three-match span in August. His contract expired following the season, but the Crew announced that the sides were still in negotiations; nine days later, they agreed a deal for Afful to return to the club on a new contract.

In the first season of his new contract, Afful appeared in both games for the Crew before the 2020 season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon the resumption of the season, he made three appearances at the MLS is Back Tournament as Columbus was eliminated in the round of 16 by Minnesota United. Afful then played all but one game during the remainder of the regular season, scoring a goal in a 2–1 loss against Orlando City on November 4th. In the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, he started every game as the Crew advanced to MLS Cup 2020, the second time that Afful appeared in the league's championship match. Against Seattle Sounders FC in the final, he provided an assist to Lucas Zelarayán on the game-winning goal as the Crew claimed a 3–0 victory. Afful scored one goal in 26 total appearances on the season and won his first trophy since arriving in Columbus in 2015. Following the season, the Crew picked up the option on his contract, ensuring his return for a seventh season in Columbus.

Afful debuted in the Ghanaian international setup at the under-20 level, appearing six times and scoring a goal for the side.  Afful made his Ghanaian Senior Team debut at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, helping Ghana to a third-place finish at that tournament. He appeared for the Black Stars at four more AFCON tournaments, finishing as runners-up in 2010 and 2015. He was called up to Ghana's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, appearing twice during the tournament. Afful captained his nation for the first time in a friendly against Congo on September 1, 2015.  He was back in an AFCON squad two years later, earning a place in the Ghanaian team for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. Afful played every minute in the tournament, helping the Black Stars to a fourth-place finish.  Although Ghana had appeared in three consecutive World Cups, the Black Stars failed in their bid to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Afful appeared six times in qualifying, including four matches in the third round as Ghana placed third in their group and missed out on the World Cup for the first time since 2002. In the fall of 2018, he returned to the Ghana team for the first time since the qualifying failure and made two appearances in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying as the Black Stars finalized a spot at the final tournament. Afful was not named to Ghana's roster for the tournament as he was dealing with an injury suffered at the club level.

After spending seven season with the COlumbus Crew, Afful signed with Charlotte FC as a free agent in 2022, with an option for 2023.