'Dreamers are rewarded': Budding talent Kwasi Poku looks to shine for Canada

Budding Canadian soccer star Kwasi Poku bet on himself when he upped and left Toronto FC in search of greater opportunities.

His gamble paid off, as he has since made a name for himself with Hamilton-based Forge FC in the Canadian Premier League and earned a European transfer. The next step in his evolution could come on Tuesday night should he make his national team debut when Canada hosts Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Poku, a 21-year-old from Brampton, Ont., was named to Canadian coach Jesse Marsch’s 26-man roster for the international friendly after a breakout 2024 season with Forge. That led to a summer move to Belgian team RWD Molenbeek for a CPL-record transfer fee reported to be worth nearly one million dollars. 

Poku’s star is on the rise but none of this would’ve happened had he not decided to leave Toronto FC’s youth academy in February 2022 after spending two-and-half years with the organization, which included a brief stint with its reserve team, TFC II. 

“It was really important for me to play men's football so early; it helped me a lot. It made me able to adapt to different scenarios in the game that maybe playing at the academy level or maybe playing on a reserve team I wouldn't have got. It was really imperative that I got involved in the CPL because it really helped advance my career and advance my game to where it is now,” Poku told Sportsnet.

Poku’s journey to the pro ranks began at the Brampton East Soccer Club before moving on to Woodbridge Strikers where he spent his formative years learning the tactics of the game. A stint at Unionville Milliken Soccer Club followed, but he only stayed there for about six months. 

Former Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney took notice of Poku while he was playing for Unionville against TFC’s academy during the 2018 BMO Champions Cup, an invitational tournament held at the MLS club’s training ground that featured some of Ontario’s elite youth teams. That led to a tryout, and he eventually signed with the TFC academy.

While working his way up the MLS club’s youth system, Poku played for a number of different coaches, including former Toronto FC player and Canadian international Terry Dunfield.

Poku spent two and half years with TFC’s youth academy, which included him playing in one game for TFC II in USL League One in 2021. Even though he left to turn pro with Forge, Poku looks back on his time with TFC’s youth academy with great fondness, and believes it helped set him up for success in the CPL. 

“I never will have anything against Toronto FC, but I just wanted to test the waters. I wanted to play men's football, and I wanted to kind of dive into the deep end,” Poku said.

Playing under Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis has also helped Poku’s personal development, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering he’s considered one of the best bench bosses – if not the best – in the CPL. 

Smyrniotis, 45, and his brother Costa were both co-founders of Sigma FC, a Canadian youth soccer development academy based in Mississauga, Ont. The current Forge coach served as technical director and first team head coach of Sigma from 2005 to 2018. Notable former Sigma players include Canadian internationals Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea. 

Smyrniotis showed great trust in Poku who became a key contributor for Forge during his three seasons at the club, helping them win back-to-back league championships in 2022 and 2023. 

“He taught me not to think too far ahead; just focus on where I am right now and what I can do to be the best person I can be today. And I've stuck with that, and I've taken that with me. It’s a mentality he’s tried to pass on to all of his players. He's a great coach and he’s been a great influence for me,” Poku said.

Poku played mostly as a left fullback during his tenure with Forge, but this season Smyrniotis converted him into a striker, largely because the club was short on options up front.

The former TFC youth academy product responded with his best season yet, scoring 10 goals and tallying two assists in all competitions for Forge. He was also named the CPL’s player of the month for June.

“Poku is a player who we've moved around in different spots, and he’s done a very good job playing on the left side. But there was something that also, for me, just wasn't clicking, where his natural abilities weren't coming out. He's a fantastic guy in the finish. In a discussion I had last year with the staff, we thought maybe this guy will make the next step in the central axis of the field,” Smyrniotis told Sportsnet.

It was a positional switch that not only benefited Forge, but it also put the youngster on Marsch’s radar and eventually led to him being called up for Canada.

“I really like him. I think he's athletic, and for a guy who's just switched to being a striker from a fullback, he has a really clever way of understanding how to move in and around in the box and get open to create chances,” Marsch told Sportsnet.

Making the move from the CPL to Belgium was a major accomplishment for a young player such as Poku, but more challenges lie ahead with Canada. 

He’s joining a national team that has plenty of quality options at the forward position. Both Jonathan David (Lille OSC) and Cyle Larin (Real Mallorca) have been playing at the top level of European club soccer for several years. With 29 goals apiece, they also rank as Canada’s joint-top all-time scorers and both are expected to continue to be a big part of Marsch’s plans in the leadup to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Yet, Poku isn’t scared off by the idea of having to earn a starting spot on a Canadian team that is rich in talented strikers.

“If I didn't believe I could do it, I don't think I'd be here. If I thought realistically about every single thing in my life, I wouldn't have achieved anything because not everything that I've done so far in my career and in my life was necessarily realistic,” Poku explained.

“So, I try to look at it that way, and I always say, ‘Why not me?’ Because it can always be you. That's always been my mindset. I want to be the best version of myself and have my eyes fixed on my goals, rather than looking left and right to other players.”

He added: “That's my goal, to get called up for the [2026] World Cup. I think that you have to set high goals for yourself. I think that you have to set goals that people may not agree with. People may say that's unrealistic, but I think dreamers are rewarded, right? You have to think ambitiously. You have to think that you can play there, you can do this, and when you do that, it'll happen.”