Latif Blessing

Latif Blessing

Personal information
Full name	Latif Atta Blessing
Date of birth	(1996-12-30) 30 December 1996 (age 27)
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team	Houston Dynamo
Number	15
Youth career
2013–2014	Liberty Professionals
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Liberty Professionals	21	(17)
2017	Sporting Kansas City	25	(3)
2017	→ Swope Park Rangers (loan)	1	(1)
2018–2022	Los Angeles FC	145	(14)
2023	New England Revolution	15	(0)
2023–2024	Toronto FC	5	(0)
2023	→ Toronto FC II (loan)	1	(0)
2024–	Houston Dynamo	27	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2024

Latif Atta Blessing (born 30 December 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo FC.

Early life

Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of southeast Ghana.

Club career

Ghana

In 2013, Latif Blessing joined the Liberty Professionals youth team in Accra.^[2] He was soon promoted to the senior club for the Ghana Premier League but mainly appeared on the bench for the side.^[2] Blessing received particularly good reviews for his performance during a Premier League match against Asante Kotoko on 21 June 2015. In that match, he scored in the 21st minute to equalize before providing two assists, leading Liberty Professionals to a 3–1 victory.^[3]

During the 2016 season, Blessing scored six goals in his first eight games.^[2] After his hat-trick on the final day of the season against Bechem United, Blessing would go on to finish the season as the top scorer in the league with 17 goals.^[4] His performance during the season was recognized in December 2016 when Blessing won the best player of the league award by the Ghana Football Association.^[5]

Major League Soccer

In January 2017, Blessing signed with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer.^[6][7] He made his MLS debut on 11 March 2017 against FC Dallas.^[8] On 24 March 2017, Blessing was loaned to Swope Park Rangers, scoring in their match against OKC Energy FC.^[9][10] Blessing's first MLS goals came in a brace on 13 May 2017 in a 2–2 draw in Orlando versus Orlando City SC.^[11] On 20 September 2017, Blessing scored in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final, as Sporting Kansas City won the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.^[12]

In December 2017, Blessing was selected by Los Angeles FC with the second selection of the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft. He made his debut for the club as a starter in their first MLS match, a 1–0 victory at Seattle Sounders FC.

On January 3, 2023, Blessing was acquired by New England Revolution in exchange for $400,000 in GAM for Los Angeles FC.^[13]

In July 2023, he was traded to Toronto FC in exchange for Mark-Anthony Kaye.^[14]

In March 2024, he was traded to Houston Dynamo FC in exchange for $75,000 in 2025 GAM and up to $200,000 in conditional 2025 GAM.^[15]

International career

Blessing was included in the provisional squad for Ghana before the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, but failed to make the final cut.^[16]

Personal life

In 2017, Blessing obtained a U.S. green card allowing him to qualify as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.^[17] However, in 2023, as part of the process to bring his family over via a visa, he had to give up his green card and reapply under a visa status, returning him to counting as an international player.^[18][19]

Blessing's brother, Ibrahim Fuseini, currently plays for Lori FC in the Armenian Premier League.^[20] He has a twin sister, Latifa.^[21]

Career statistics

As of match played 21 October 2023^[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Playoffs		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Liberty Professionals	2016	Ghanaian Premier League	21	17	—		—		—		—		21	17
Sporting Kansas City	2017	Major League Soccer	25	3	5	3	1	0	—		—		31	6
Swope Park Rangers (loan)	2017	USL	1	1	—		—		—		—		1	1
Los Angeles FC	2018	Major League Soccer	30	5	4	2	1	0	—		—		35	7
	2019		34	6	3	0	2	0	—		—		39	6
	2020		21	1	—		1	0	5	1	2	1	29	3
	2021		30	2	—		—		—		—		30	2
	2022		30	0	3	0	0	0	—		—		33	0
	Total		145	14	10	2	4	0	5	1	2	1	166	18
New England Revolution	2023	Major League Soccer	15	0	1	0	—		—		—		16	0
Toronto FC	2023	Major League Soccer	5	0	—		—		—		2	0	7	0
Toronto FC II (loan)	2023	MLS Next Pro	1	0	—		—		—		—		1	0
Career total			212	35	16	5	5	0	5	1	4	1	242	42

Honours

Sporting Kansas City

• U.S. Open Cup: 2017

Los Angeles FC

• MLS Cup: 2022
• Supporters' Shield: 2019, 2022

References

1. "Latif Blessing". Los Angeles FC. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
2. "A Shamo Quaye of our time". pulse.com. Pulse. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
3. "Liberty fight back to defeat Kotoko in Dansoman". modernghana.com. Modern Ghana. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
4. "Latif Blessing wins Ghana Premier League goal king". ghanaweb.com. Ghana Web. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
5. Abayateye, Michael (18 December 2016). "Latif Blessing wins Best Player of the Year at GFA/PLB Awards". primenewsghana.com. Prime News Ghana. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
6. Kovzan, Sam (9 January 2017). "Sporting KC acquires 20-year-old winger Latif Blessing in transfer from Ghana". Sporting Kansas City. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
7. "Sporting KC: preso Rwatubyaye, lavoro di scout all'italiana" [Sporting KC: Rwatubyaye, Italian Scout Job]. mlssocceritalia.com (in Italian). MLS Soccer Italia. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
8. "Recap: Sporting KC held to 0–0 draw with FC Dallas in 2017 home opener | Sporting Kansas City".
9. "Swope Park Rangers adds five players on loan from Sporting Kansas City | Sporting Kansas City".
10. "Recap: Rangers open 2017 season with 3–1 comeback win | Sporting Kansas City".
11. "Recap: Latif Blessing's brace steers Sporting KC to 2–2 draw at Orlando City SC | Sporting Kansas City".
12. "Recap: Sporting KC crowned Open Cup champions with 2–1 win over New York Red Bulls | Sporting Kansas City".
13. "LAFC Acquires $400,000 In General Allocation Money From New England In Exchange For Latif Blessing". Los Angeles FC. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
14. "Toronto FC acquire Latif Blessing and an international slot in exchange for Mark-Anthony Kaye". Toronto FC. 13 July 2023.
15. "Toronto FC trade Latif Blessing to Houston Dynamo FC for GAM". Toronto FC. 14 March 2024.
16. "Ghana Premier League best player Latif Blessing dropped from Africa Cup of Nations squad". Ghana Soccer Net. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
17. "Forward Latif Blessing obtains green card, no longer occupies international spot on Sporting KC roster". SportingKC.com. 28 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
18. Vazquez, Randy (13 June 2023). "He came from Ghana to play soccer, but left his family behind. With help from the Revolution, they were finally reunited". Boston Globe.
19. Pongratz, Caleb [@CalebPongratz10] (10 July 2023). "Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing no longer occupies a green card and occupies an international roster slot" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
20. "Ghanaian youngster Ibrahim Fuseini joins Armenian side Lori FC". kickgh.com. Kick GH. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
21. "Latif Blessing | Los Angeles Football Club".
22. Latif Blessing at Soccerway

External links

• Latif Blessing at Major League Soccer
• Latif Blessing at Soccerway