Manu Duah

Manu Duah
Duah playing for San Diego FC in 2025
Personal information
Full name Kojo Manu Duah[1]
Date of birth (2005-06-05) 5 June 2005
Place of birth Kumasi, Ghana
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 San Diego FC
Number 26
Youth career
–2024 Santa Barbara SC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 14 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025– San Diego FC 34 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19:25, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Kojo Manu Duah (born 5 June 2005) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club San Diego FC. A Generation Adidas player, he was selected with the number one overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. Duah began his professional career as a midfielder, but was moved into the centre-back position.

College career

Duah played for one season as a freshman for UC Santa Barbara, appearing in 14 games for the Gauchos.

Starting in all 14 of his appearances, Duah helped the Gauchos to a 12–5–5 record in the 2024 season. Duah's collegiate career ended at the 2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament where the Gauchos beat UCLA 1–0 in the first round in overtime before falling to Stanford in round 2 in penalties.[3]

Club career

Duah was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft by San Diego FC (SDFC). With the selection, Duah became the first-ever draft pick for San Diego FC, an expansion club.[4][5] SDFC coach Mikey Varas has said that he believes Duah has potential to "dominate" the league.[6]

On 25 June 2025, Duah made his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut in San Diego FC's 5–3 away win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[7] On 19 July 2025, he made his first home start in a 1–1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Despite scoring an own goal, he was selected as the player of the match.[8][9]

On 3 February 2026, in round one of the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup against Pumas UNAM, Duah scored San Diego FC's first goal in a 4–1 comeback victory, his first professional goal.[10]

Style of play

Duah began his professional playing career as a midfielder, but after joining San Diego FC, transitioned to the centre-back position. Duah's first professional game was played as a midfielder, but ever since he has primarily played in the centre-back position.[11]

Personal life

Duah was born in and grew up in Kumasi,[1] and he has two older brothers and a younger sister. Duah credits his father for inspiring him to develop his skills as a footballer before he died. After the death of his father, Duah had to drop out of school due to financial shortcomings, but he was given an opportunity at the New Life Academy in Accra to pursue both his education and his footballing career. Through the academy, Duah was able to enroll at Dunn School in Los Olivos, California, United States when he was 16-years-old. However, the process of receiving his visa was delayed, and he was forced to start his education there online while in Ghana in order to not fall behind.[11]

Dunn School's dean of students became Duah's legal guardian in the United States, and she acted as his host until he was able to get his own host family. While enrolled at Dunn School, Duah began playing for the Santa Barbara SC, and through his time playing with the club, he was connected to a family who would pick up their son and his teammates in order to bring them to practice and games. Duah formed a close connection with the family, and eventually asked if they would become his host family, and they agreed.[11]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 August 2026[12]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League U.S. Open Cup North America Playoffs Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
San Diego FC 2025 Major League Soccer 14 0 — — 5 0 3[a] 0 22 0
2026 Major League Soccer 20 0 — 2 1 — 2[a] 0 24 1
Career total 34 0 0 0 2 1 5 0 5 0 46 1
  1. 1 2 Appearances in Leagues Cup

References

  1. 1 2 "Ghana's Manu Duah drafted number 1 pick in 2025 MLS draft". GhanaWeb. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Manu Duah | San Diego FC". sandiegofc.com. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  3. ↑ "UC Santa Barbara's 2024 Campaign Concludes at Stanford in NCAA Tournament Second Round Match". bigwest.org. 24 November 2024. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  4. ↑ "San Diego FC takes Manu Duah first overall in 2025 MLS SuperDraft". ESPN.com. 21 December 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ "San Diego FC select UCSB midfielder Manu Duah with the No. 1 overall pick in MLS SuperDraft, St. Louis University's Max Floriani and Wisconsin's Dean Boltz go No. 2 and 3 respectively | Goal.com South Africa". www.goal.com. 2024-12-21. Retrieved 2024-12-21.
  6. ↑ "Expansion San Diego FC make Manu Duah No. 1 pick in MLS draft". Reuters. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Duah Makes MLS Debut in Big Win". University of California, Santa Barbara. 2025-07-07. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  8. ↑ "Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. San Diego FC Match Report – Wednesday June 25, 2025". FBRef. 25 June 2025. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "San Diego FC stay top of the West after 1-1 deadlock with Whitecaps". The Sporting Tribune. 2025-07-20. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  10. ↑ Kensing, Kyle (3 February 2026). "In another franchise first, SDFC beats Pumas in Concacaf Champions Cup opener". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Home: The Story of Manu Duah". San Diego FC. 19 July 2026. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Manu Duah Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
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