Addai Returns to Rhode Island Reds FC
By Rhode Island Reds FC
The Rhode Island Reds FC, celebrating their eight years in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), are proud to announce the return of 2016 NPSL National Player of the Year and 2016 NPSL Golden Boot winner Isaac “Nana” Addai for the 2019 NPSL season.
“We are ecstatic to have Isaac back with the Reds family enjoying soccer and masterminding the Reds attack in 2019,” RI Reds FC Chairman Kabba D. Joof said.
Addai comes from the humblest of beginnings; his career in soccer began when he was spotted playing in a refugee camp. A civil war in Liberia forced a young Addai to move to Ghana with his grandmother.
He would go on to play for Accra’s Sovereign Academy for five years before joining Buduburam FC and Bago FC. He would return to Liberia after the war to play for the U-23 Liberian National Team, but he would later make the decision to come to America to follow his soccer dream.
Addai joined Rhode Island Reds FC in the 2016 season and immediately made an impact in the overall performance of the team. His playmaking, passing, and scoring ability helped the Reds finished in third place in the Atlantic Conference with an impressive tally of 18 goals. He was selected as both the NPSL National Player of the Year and the NPSL Golden Boot winner in 2016. In 2017, Addai, while playing for Boston City FC, was twice named to the Football Manager NPSL Team of the Week and was named NPSL National Player of the Week after a hat trick against the Reds on May 13.
“My first year in the NPSL with the Reds was very successful because once I was signed by the Reds, I felt part of the Reds family,” Addai said. “I felt at home that is why I was able to express myself on the field. I miss that environment that is why I am back home where I belong.”
Addai embodies everything Rhode Island Reds FC is about: community, selflessness, family, and hard work.
“I have worked with many players in the past 30 years and I have never met a talented player who is so humble, hardworking, and a joy to coach,” RI Reds FC head coach Mario Pereira added. “I am excited to have Isaac back for 2019 season.”
The Rhode Island Reds’ 2019 NPSL schedule will be released in the coming months. Please visit RIRedsFC.com to stay up-to-date with all the Rhode Island Reds news.
Photo Credit: Andy Fonseca
