Tofa Fakunle

{{short description|Canadian professional soccer player|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Tofa Fakunle

| fullname = Oluwatofarati Fakunle

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|11|1|df=y}}

| birth_place = Lagos, Nigeria

| height = 1.63 m

| position = Forward

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 = 2007-2013

| youthclubs1 = Calgary Foothills

| collegeyears1 =

| college1 =

| collegecaps1 =

| collegegoals1 =

| years1 = 2015–2019

| clubs1 = Calgary Foothills

| caps1 = 51

| goals1 = 8

| years2 = 2019–2020

| clubs2 = Cavalry FC

| caps2 = 3

| goals2 = 0

| nationalteam1 =

| nationalyears1 =

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| pcupdate = 13 September 2020

| ntupdate =

}}

Oluwatofarati "Tofa" Fakunle (born 1 November 1995) is a former Canadian professional soccer player. Currently, Fakunle is the Assistant General Manager for Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.

Club career

=Calgary Foothills=

Fakunle played for the Calgary Foothills from 2015 until 2019. In 2016 he made eleven league appearances, scoring one goal, and made another five playoff appearances, where he added another goal.{{cite web |title=Oluwatofarati Fakunle 2016 |url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/12473732?subseason=278141 |publisher=USL League Two |accessdate=29 August 2019}} The following year, he made twelve appearances for Foothills.{{cite web |title=Oluwatofarati Fakunle 2017 |url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/18029091?subseason=376352 |publisher=USL League Two |accessdate=29 August 2019}}

In 2018, Fakunle made thirteen league appearances, scoring one goal, and made a further three appearances in the playoffs as Calgary went on to win the PDL Championship.{{cite web |title=Oluwatofarati Fakunle 2018 |url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/24767467?subseason=482928 |publisher=USL League Two |accessdate=29 August 2019}} In 2019, he made thirteen league appearances, scoring six goals, and scored another in one playoff appearance.{{cite web |title=Oluwatofarati Fakunle 2019 |url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/roster_players/33115923?subseason=583580 |publisher=USL League Two |accessdate=29 August 2019}}

=Cavalry FC=

After training with the club in preseason that year, Fakunle signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC on 28 August 2019.{{cite web |author1=Marty Thompson |title=Cavalry signs training camp invitee Tofa Fakunle |url=https://canpl.ca/article/cavalry-sign-training-camp-invitee-tofa-fakunle |publisher=Canadian Premier League |accessdate=29 August 2019 |date=28 August 2019}} He made his debut that day as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Pacific FC.{{cite web |title=O. Fakunle |url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/oluwatofarati-fakunle/628757/ |publisher=Soccerway |accessdate=29 August 2019}} Fakunle would not be listed on Cavalry's training camp roster for the 2020 season, ending his time with the club after one season.{{cite web|url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-official-pre-season-training-has-begun|title=Cavalry FC Official Pre-Season Training has begun|website=Cavalry FC|date=March 2, 2020}} He remained with the club in 2020 as part of the coaching staff, but during an injury crisis was added to the roster for a match against HFX Wanderers, appearing as a late-game substitute.{{Cite web|url=https://canpl.ca/video/10-man-cavalry-takes-pridefrom-exhausting-loss-to-hfx-give-yourself-a-chance|first=Marty|last=Thompson|work=Canadian Premier League|title=10-man Cavalry takes pride from exhausting loss to HFX: 'Give yourself a chance'|date=September 12, 2020}}

Management career

Upon completion of his playing career, Fakunle would serve as the Operations Manager for Cavalry FC, and would later be promoted to Assistant General Manager prior to the 2022 season.{{cite web|url=https://calgarysun.com/sports/soccer/cavalry-loses-major-pieces-farsi-yao-nash-in-off-season-look-to-replace|title=Cavalry loses major pieces Farsi, Yao, Nash in off-season, look to replace|website=Calgary Sun|date=January 18, 2022}}