| Intro | Ghanaian footballer |
| Is |
Athlete |
| From |
Ghana |
| Type |
Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 25 August 1991, Koforidua |
| Age: | 28 years |
Gershon Koffie (born August 25, 1991) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
Career
Youth
Koffie grew up in the Ghanaian capital Accra, and began his soccer career when he joined Rot-Weiss Accra – a development club affiliated with German club Rot-Weiss Essen – as a nine-year-old in 2000. He spent five years with Rot-Weiss Accra, before signing his first professional contract in 2006 with Ghanaian Division Two League team International Allies at the age of 15.
Professional
Koffie played four full seasons with International Allies, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, before leaving the club in 2009 to try to secure a spot with a professional team in Europe. The Swedish side Hammarby IF was at a scouting trip in Ghana when Koffie broke his leg. Hammarby helped him with the operation and the rehabilitation in Sweden. Later on he trained with the Danish club Randers, but was not offered a contract.
Having been spotted by Vancouver’s director of soccer operations Tom Soehn at a tournament in Ghana six months previously, Koffie relocated to Canada in 2010, and subsequently signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USSF Division 2 Professional League. He made his Whitecaps debut on September 5, 2010 in a 0-0 tie with the Puerto Rico Islanders. On February 9, 2011 he signed a new contract for the 2011 Major League Soccer season with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He scored his first goal for the club on August 7, 2011 in a 4-2 win over Chicago Fire.
He would later establish himself as a key player for Whitecaps FC, making a total of 133 appearances, and scoring on 9 occasions. Before the 2016 MLS season Koffie was traded to New England Revolution. The deal was confirmed on February 11, 2016 with Whitecaps FC getting general allocation money and targeted allocation money in exchange for the player. Vancouver were also to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee obtained by New England.
Koffie would later move on to make 22 competitive league games for New England during the season. His stint at the club was plagued by injuries, but Koffie performed like a club MVP when healthy, covering acres of space in the middle of the park while constantly bullying attackers.
On January 15, 2017 he moved to Europe for the first time in his career, signing a three year-deal with Hammarby IF in the Swedish Allsvenskan. The club who once had helped Koffie rehabilitate from his serious injury back in 2009, now signed the player on a free transfer.
International
Koffie was called up to the Ghana U-20 national team for the first time in July 2010. He was named in Ghana’s team for the 2011 African Youth Championship, starting against The Gambia on April 21, 2011. He was substituted after an hour for James Bissue. He made a substitute appearance against Cameroon on April 24, 2011 replacing Paul Aidoo in the 67th minute. Ghana were eliminated from the competition at the group stage finishing in third position behind Cameroon and Nigeria.
Personal
Koffie received his Canadian Permanent Residency in 2013, which qualifies him as a domestic player on Canadian clubs for MLS roster purposes.