For anyone who has followed Canadian soccer closely over the last several years, the name Hanson Boakai will be very recognizable. Boakai was tearing apart opposing defences off the dribble when he was still a teenager, and many will remember his performances for FC Edmonton in the Voyageurs Cup or for the Canadian U17s in the U17 FIFA World Cup.

But while a promising professional career seemed guaranteed, things stalled for Boakai. He left FC Edmonton and Canada behind to transfer to Croatian club Hajduk Split amongst many suggestions that his self discipline and commitment were lacking. FC Edmonton attempted to collect training compensation from both Hajduk Split and Boakai’s next club Landskrona BoIS without success. It is a period of his career that Boakai requested not to discuss, instead wishing to focus on what has become quite the European adventure.

As is typical for young Canadians going overseas, playing professionally in Europe can be a battle, and it’s been no different for Boakai. Beyond the usual homesickness, language barriers, and culture shock, Boakai found his plans constantly scuttled by paperwork issues and over the next couple of years made very few professional appearances. Consulting his agent, he decided to transfer to a country where he felt more of the business was ‘above board’ and they were more administratively organized. If he could get his paperwork finally sorted, Boakai could go back to focusing on football and get himself back on track.

And that is exactly what has happened. Playing in the Finnish second division for Ekenas IF, Boakai made 23 appearences, scored six goals, and became a key attacking player for the club. By mid-season, top flight Finnish teams were showing interest and after the end of the season Boakai signed with Inter Turku.

In Boakai’s own words, he is taking life one day at a time and one game at a time. He feels he needs to remain focused, mentally strong, and stay committed to his current club and his training. It is a mature expression from a player that seems to have been around forever but is still on 22 years old and potentially has a decade or more of professional footballing left in him. And he has loftier goals like transferring to a bigger club and reclaiming a spot with the Canadian Men’s National Team. But he says that the way to those goals is through his commitment, effort, and performances at his new club in Finland.

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