| Intro | Gambian footballer |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | Gambia |
| Type |
Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
27 April 1983, Serekunda |
| Age | 37 years |
Mamadou “Futty” Danso (born April 27, 1983) is a Gambian footballer, a defender who currently plays for the Kelantan of the Malaysia Super League.
Career
College and amateur
Danso was recruited to play soccer for North Carolina Wesleyan College and also went on to play two years of college soccer at Southern Polytechnic State University, where he was a two-time All-Southern States Athletic Conference selection. Danso became SPSU’s first All-America selection in 2008, after leading the conference in scoring with 19 goals, and finished his college career with 35 goals in total.
During his college years Danso also played in the USL Premier Development League for Cary RailHawks U23s.
Professional
Danso was acquired by Major League Soccer (MLS) club D.C. United via the waiver ranking order, having left college early to turn professional, but was transferred to Portland Timbers of the USL First Division in April 2009 without ever signing a contract with MLS.
Danso made his professional debut on April 25, 2009, coming on as a late substitute in Portland’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. He scored his first professional goal on May 24, 2009, in a 2-1 victory over the Puerto Rico Islanders. He stayed with the Timbers when they moved to MLS in 2011, playing as a defender there for three and a half seasons and helping them win the Western Conference standings and advance to the Western Conference Final in 2013. When Danso played with fellow Gambian Pa Modou Kah, the two Timbers centerbacks became known as “The Great Wall of Gambia”.
In June 2014, Danso was traded to the Montreal Impact in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
In March 2015, Danso was announced as a new signing of the Carolina Railhawks.
In January 2017, Danso was unveiled as one of Kelantan FA import player and replacing Cédric Djeugoue who failed to be signed by the club after he had a problem with his documents.
International
On August 30, 2010, Danso was given his first chance at international play by being selected to the Gambia national football team’s September 5, 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia.
Career statistics
As of 28 January 2017.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Carolina RailHawks U23 | 2008 | Premier Development League | 8 | 2 | — | 8 | 2 | |||||
| Portland Timbers (USL) | 2009 | USSF Division 2 Professional League | 16 | 1 | — | 16 | 1 | |||||
| 2010 | USSF Division 2 Professional League | 24 | 1 | — | 24 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 40 | 2 | — | 40 | 2 | |||||||
| Portland Timbers | 2011 | Major League Soccer | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 2012 | Major League Soccer | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2013 | Major League Soccer | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | 1 | ||||
| 2013 | MLS Reserve League | 6 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| 2014 | Major League Soccer | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 66 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 68 | 5 | |||||
| Montreal Impact | 2014 | Major League Soccer | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2014 | MLS Reserve League | 5 | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 8 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |||||
| Carolina Railhawks | 2015 | North American Soccer League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | |||
| Rayo OKC | 2016 | North American Soccer League | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| Kelantan | 2017 | Malaysia Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 174 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 178 | 15 | ||
Personal
Danso holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
Honors
Portland Timbers
- USL First Division Commissioner’s Cup (1): 2009