Noble Okello Ayo (born July 20, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder.
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Noble Okello Ayo[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2000-07-20) July 20, 2000 (age 22) | ||
Place of birth | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
North York Hearts | |||
Mooredale SC | |||
2013–2018 | Toronto FC | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2018 | Toronto FC III | 16 | (1) |
2017–2018 | Toronto FC II | 23 | (0) |
2019–2022 | Toronto FC | 23 | (1) |
2019 | → Toronto FC II | 19 | (0) |
2020 | → HB Køge (loan) | 12 | (1) |
2021 | → Toronto FC II (loan) | 3 | (1) |
National team‡ | |||
2016 | Canada U17 | 3 | (0) |
2018 | Canada U20 | 5 | (3) |
2018 | Canada U21 | 4 | (0) |
2020– | Canada | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 14, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of January 10, 2020 |
Okello began playing soccer at age six with the North York Hearts SC.[1] He later played for Mooredale SC before joining the Toronto FC Academy in 2013.[2] On August 20, 2017, he was part of the U17 side that beat Juventus U17 to capture the inaugural International Youth Soccer Cup.[3]
In 2016, he appeared in one match for Toronto FC III in League1 Ontario.[4] In 2017, he scored one goal in 13 appearances[5] and made a further two appearances in 2018.[6]
In September 2017, Okello signed his first professional contract with Toronto FC II in the USL.[2][7] On October 6, 2017, he made his professional debut against Bethlehem Steel FC.[8] Following the conclusion of USL season, Okello was invited to train with the U19 team of VfL Wolfsburg.[9] On January 10, 2018, he played a full 90 minutes for their U19 side in a 2–1 victory over Hallescher FC where he scored the equalizing goal in the 88th minute[10] He then returned to Toronto, to join the Toronto FC first team's 2018 pre-season training camp.[11] It was later reported that VfL Wolfsburg had made three separate transfer bids to sign Okello, which would see his club receive a six figure transfer fee in addition to appearance fees and sell on percentage fee.[12]
In January 2019, Okello signed a first-team contract with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.[13][14] He made his first-team debut for Toronto on August 14 against Ottawa Fury FC in the second leg of their 2019 Canadian Championship semi-final series.[15] He made his MLS debut on July 21, 2020, against the New England Revolution.[16][17] He was loaned to the second team for some matches in 2021.[18] He scored his first goal for TFCII on June 30, converting a penalty kick against Tormenta FC.[19] Upon completion of the 2021 season, Okello's option for the 2022 season would be picked up by Toronto.[20] After appearing in four of the first five matches of the 2022 season, Okello suffered an injur ythat kept him out of action for five months.[21] After the end of the 2022 season, he departed the club, upon the expiry of his contract.[22]
On September 25, 2020, Okello was sent out on loan to Danish 1st Division club HB Køge, the same club that his teammate Rocco Romeo was also on loan with.[23] On September 30, he made his debut for Køge, coming on as a second-half substitute and scored a goal from 35 metres out.[24][25]
Okello made his debut in the Canadian youth system attending a camp in September 2016 with the Canada U17 team.[1] He was named to the roster for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he made his international debut on April 22, 2017 against Costa Rica U17.[1]
In May 2018, Okello was called up to the Canadian U21 side for the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[26] In October 2018, Okello was named to the Canadian U20 squad for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[27] He scored a brace in the tournament opener against Dominica, a 4–0 victory.[28] Okello was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[29]
Okello was named to the Canadian senior team for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[30] Okello made his senior debut on January 7, 2020, against Barbados as a substitute in a 4–1 victory.[31]
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Toronto FC III | 2016[4] | League1 Ontario | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
2017[5] | 13 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |||||
2018[6] | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
Total | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
Toronto FC II | 2017 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
2018 | 22 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||||
2019 | USL League One | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||||
2021 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||||||
Total | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
Toronto FC | 2019 | MLS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
2020 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
2021 | 14 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 3[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 20 | 2 | ||||
2022 | 8 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||||
Total | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
HB Køge (loan) | 2020–21 | Danish 1st Division | 12 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 1 | ||
Career total | 96 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 105 | 5 |
Canada | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Apps | Goals |
2020 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
Canada squad – 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup | ||
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