Kobe Lloyd Franklin (born May 10, 2003) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a defender for Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kobe Lloyd Franklin | ||
| Date of birth | (2003-05-10) May 10, 2003 (age 19) | ||
| Place of birth | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Toronto FC II | ||
| Number | 58 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Beach Community Soccer | |||
| Power Soccer | |||
| Evanston SC | |||
| 2012–2016 | Chicago Fire FC | ||
| 2017–2021 | Toronto FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018 | Toronto FC III | 1 | (1) |
| 2021– | Toronto FC II | 44 | (4) |
| 2022 | → Toronto FC (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2019 | Canada U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2022– | Canada U20 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 18, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 26, 2022 | |||
He began playing soccer at age four for Beach Community Soccer.[1][2] Shortly after he began to play with Power Soccer Academy.[3] When he was 9, his family moved to Chicago, where he began playing with Evanson SC before quickly joining the academy of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire.[3] He later returned to Toronto, joining the Toronto FC Academy in February 2017.[4]
He made his senior debut playing for the Senior Academy team, Toronto FC III, on August 19, 2018 in League1 Ontario against Ottawa South United, scoring a 94th minute goal, becoming the youngest ever goal scorer in League1 Ontario at the age of 15 years, 3 months.[5]
On May 13, 2021, he signed his first professional contract with Toronto FC II of USL League One to join the team for the 2021 season.[4] He made his debut for Toronto FC II on May 22, 2021 against North Texas SC.[6] He scored his first professional goal on August 18 against Forward Madison.[7] On October 1, he recorded two assists and set up a third goal (although was not credited with a third assist) in a 3-0 victory over North Carolina FC.[8] For the 2021 season, he was a finalist for both the USL League One Young Player of the Year and Defender of the Year awards.[9]
On April 1, 2022, he joined the first team, Toronto FC on a short-term four-day loan.[10] He signed additional four day loans on April 23, May 4, and May 7.[11][12][13] He made his Major League Soccer debut on May 4, as a second half substitute against FC Cincinnati.[14]
Franklin represented the Canada U17 team at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[15] In June 2022, he was named to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2022 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[16]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toronto FC III | 2018[18] | League1 Ontario | 1 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| Toronto FC II | 2021 | USL League One | 24 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 2 | ||||
| 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||||
| Toronto FC (loan) | 2022 | Major League Soccer | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 46 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 5 | ||
Toronto FC II – current squad | |
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