Nicholas Prasad (born 7 December 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bischofswerdaer FV 08 in the Regionalliga. Born in Canada, he represents the Fiji national football team.[1]
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nicholas Prasad | ||
Date of birth | (1995-12-07) 7 December 1995 (age 26) | ||
Place of birth | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | ||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
2006 | Whalley SC | ||
2007–2012 | Surrey United | ||
2012–2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 | 5 | (1) |
2014–2018 | Seattle Redhawks | 61 | (2) |
2018–2019 | SpVgg Bayreuth | 3 | (0) |
2019 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 1 | (0) |
2020–2021 | Bischofswerdaer FV 08 | 11 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2019– | Fiji | 11 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 February 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 July 2019 |
Prasad was born in Edmonton, Alberta to immigrant parents from the Fiji Islands, Arun and Rosene respectively, and has an older brother, Brendan, who works as a RCMP Police Officer.
Prasad played for the BC Soccer Provincial Development Program from 2008-2011. He captained the team to a bronze medal against Alberta at the National Tournament. His performances led to an invitation to the Canadian Youth National Training Team. [2]
Prasad attended Enver Creek Secondary, where he captained the Cougars to their first BC High School Provincial Championship in 2012.[3] Prasad also won the Enver Creek Student-Athlete of the Year award from 2008-2011. [4] [5]
In 2012, Prasad joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy.[6] He helped the team win the USSDA Northwest Division title during the regular season, which led to a birth in the USSDA Finals in Houston.[7] The following year, Prasad captained the team to a second place finish in the USSDA Northwest Division.[8] [9] In 2014, Prasad appeared for USL PDL side Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23. He scored his first goal for the U-23 side against Portland Timbers U-23's in a 2-2 draw at Providence Park.[10][11] Prasad's impressive performances led him to make his senior team debut, coming on for Ethen Sampson in the 45th minute against FC Edmonton in a reserve fixture.[12] [13]
In 2014, Prasad signed a letter of intent to play NCAA Division I college soccer at Seattle University.[14] In his sophomore season, the 11th-ranked Redhawks defeated the UCLA Bruins, 1-0, at Championship Field to advance to the sweet sixteen of the Division 1 NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history.[15] Prasad recorded an assist in the game and was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the week. Prasad appeared in 61 games for the Redhawks. [16]
In 2018, Prasad signed a professional contract with Regionalliga side SpVgg Bayreuth in Germany.[17] Prasad made his home debut at Hans-Walter-Wild-Stadion in a 2-0 loss against SpVgg Greuther Fürth II. Prasad recorded his first assist for the club in a derby match against Bayern Hof in the Landespokal Bayern.[18]
On July 16, 2019, Prasad was acquired by the USL Championship side Tulsa Roughnecks, for an undisclosed fee.[19] He made his USL Championship debut in a 1-0 win away at H-E-B Park against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros.[20]
In January 2020, Prasad signed for Regionalliga Nordost side Bischofswerdaer FV 08. He made his debut against FSV Union Fürstenwalde in a 2-0 loss.[21]
In 2019, Prasad was called into the Fiji national football team for official FIFA International friendlies against New Caledonia and Mauritius.[22] On March 18, 2019, he made his debut against New Caledonia and recorded an assist in the 3-0 victory. Prasad has been a regular in Christophe Gamel's side since his debut.[23][24] In 2019, Prasad was selected for the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. Prasad anchored the backline of the Fijians and helped the team win a bronze medal.