Akil Amen-Diop Watts (born February 4, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right-back for St. Louis City in Major League Soccer.

Akil Watts
Personal information
Full name Akil Amen-Diop Watts[1]
Date of birth (2000-02-04) February 4, 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
St. Louis City
Number 20
Youth career
2015–2017 IMG Academy
2017–2018 Portland Timbers
2018–2019 Mallorca
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Mallorca B 1 (0)
2019–2021 Louisville City 34 (0)
2022 St. Louis City 2 24 (6)
2023– St. Louis City 20 (0)
2023–St. Louis City 2 (loan) 8 (3)
International career
2016–2017 United States U17 17 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 7, 2024

Career

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Club

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Watts started his career playing for Portland Timbers Academy. In 2018, after his performances at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he signed a professional contract with Spanish team RCD Mallorca.[2][3] On August 6, 2019, he signed with Louisville City FC at the USL Championship.[4][5] On August 30, 2019, Watts made his professional debut when he started and played 56 minutes of the 1–1 draw against Indy Eleven at the USL Championship.[6] Following the 2021 season, Louisville opted to decline their contract option on Watts.[7]

International

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Watts represented the United States at the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. At the World Cup, he played three, of the five matches, the Americans played at the World Cup, including the "Round of 16" 5–0 win against Paraguay (when he started and played the entire match) and the "Quarter-finals" 4–1 defeat against England (when he started and played 86 minutes).[8][9][10]

Honors

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St. Louis City SC

References

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  1. ^ "2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup – Club roster: St. Louis City SC (USA)" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 30, 2024. p. 24. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Sebring, Blake. "Fort Wayne's Akil Watts ready for new soccer challenge in Mallorca, Spain". The News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Reichel, Aubree. "Local soccer player signs pro deal". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  4. ^ "Louisville Signs U.S. Youth International Watts". USLChampionship.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  5. ^ Rimpson, Robert. "Louisville City FC announces the signing of defender Akil Watts". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "Louisville City 1 – 1 Indy Eleven". Soccerway. Archived from the original on September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  7. ^ Communications, LouCity (December 2, 2021). "LouCity announces initial roster moves for 2022 season". Louisville City FC - USL Championship. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ghana 1–0 United States". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  9. ^ "United States 1–4 England". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  10. ^ "Paraguay 5–0 United States". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  11. ^ "St. Louis CITY dominate Sporting KC to set another MLS record". Major League Soccer. September 30, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
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