Emmanuel Agyenim "Ema" Boateng (born 17 January 1994) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club San Diego FC.
Early life and education
Boateng was born and raised in Ghana in a home that lacked running water and electricity. As a preteen, he was selected to join the Right to Dream Academy where he combined academic studies with football training.
In 2009 at the age of 15, Boateng moved to the United States on a scholarship to attend Cate School in Carpinteria, C…
alifornia. In addition to playing for the Cate School team, he also appeared for other local youth sides in Santa Barbara Soccer Club and South Coast Strikers. Boateng received the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year award, presented to him by former winner Alexi Lalas, and became the first recipient in Cate School's 100+ year history across all sports. He skipped his final year of high school to enroll early at the University of California, Santa Barbara, despite interest from Manchester City F.C. to sign him on professional terms.
While at UCSB, Boateng played college soccer for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team. In his first year in 2012, he appeared in 18 games, scoring 4 goals and adding 4 assists.
Club career
Boateng playing for Helsingborgs
Helsingborgs
During the summer of 2013, he played with USL Premier Development League side Ventura County Fusion while still enrolled in college.
He appeared in 5 games for the Fusion, scoring once.
After receiving an invitation to train with Swedish Allsvenskan side Helsingborgs IF later that summer, Boateng paid for his own airplane ticket across the Atlantic Ocean to be able to visit the club. He made a big impression and soon thereafter they signed him to a three-and-a-half-year contract in July 2013. He would appear in 37 Allsvenskan matches over his three seasons with the club, scoring 4 times in the league. He also helped the club reach the Svenska Cupen final in 2014, scoring two goals in five appearances, and came on as a second-half substitute in the final itself; a 0–1 defeat to IF Elfsborg on 18 May.
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