Romario Garfield Williams (born 15 August 1994) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship side Indy Eleven. He is named after the legendary Brazilian footballer, Romário.[2]
_(cropped).jpg) Williams playing for Charleston Battery in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Romario Garfield Williams[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 15 August 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Portmore, Jamaica | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Indy Eleven | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | UCF Knights | 51 | (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Orlando City U-23 | 11 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Montreal Impact | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | → FC Montreal (loan) | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | → Charleston Battery (loan) | 27 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Atlanta United | 19 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Charleston Battery (loan) | 22 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | → Atlanta United 2 (loan) | 12 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Columbus Crew | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Miami FC | 16 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Al-Ittihad | 23 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Qadsia SC | 10 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | New Mexico United | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 29 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Hartford Athletic | 11 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Indy Eleven | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Jamaica U17 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Jamaica U23 | 3 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016– | Jamaica | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
editYouth
editWilliams graduated from Kingston College in Jamaica and then attended university in Orlando.[3][4] He played college soccer at the University of Central Florida. With the UCF Knights men's soccer program, Williams recorded 18 goals and five assists in 51 games, 46 as starter. He was a unanimous selection to the American Athletic Conference all-conference first team in 2014. He was also the 2013 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year.[5]
Professional
editWilliams was selected by Montreal Impact third overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft on 15 January 2015. He made his professional debut on 28 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw against Orlando City SC.[6]
On 11 December 2016 Atlanta United FC acquired Williams from the Impact in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.[7] On 7 April 2018, he scored his first career MLS goal in a 5–0 rout of Los Angeles FC.
On 1 July 2019, Williams was traded to Columbus Crew SC in exchange for $100,000 of General Allocation Money.[8] After one season with the crew, Williams joined Miami FC of the USL Championship in January 2020.[9]
In December 2020 Williams moved abroad to Egypt and joined Al Ittihad of the Egyptian Premier League.[10] On 16 August 2021, Williams moved abroad to Kuwait and joined Qadsia SC of the Kuwait Premier League.[11]
In July, 2022 Williams signed a contract with USL Championship side New Mexico United[12]
Williams signed with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on January 5, 2023.[13]
Hartford Athletic
editOn 4 January 2024, Williams signed with Hartford Athletic.[14] In the season opener and his debut with the club on 9 March, Williams would slot in a penalty to score his first goal for Hartford and help them defeat El Paso Locomotive in a 1–0 win.[15] Williams made 12 total league and cup appearances for Hartford in 2024, scoring 3 goals.[16]
Indy Eleven
editOn 14 June 2024, Williams was traded to fellow USL Championship side Indy Eleven in exchange for defender Younes Boudadi.[17] He made his debut for the Indianapolis-based club on 22 June, replacing Jack Blake at halftime in a 1–0 home loss to Orange County SC.[18][19]
International career
editWilliams has represented the U-17 level of the Jamaica national U-17 team, playing in three games at the 2011 U17 FIFA World Cup. He had previously started four of five games at the CONCACAF qualifiers. Romario also played the Jamaica U-23 national team in March 2015.[20] Williams made his Jamaica senior national team debut in a 1–0 Caribbean Cup qualify win over Suriname on 13 November 2016.[21]
Personal
editHe was named after Romário, Brazilian football legend who won the 1994 FIFA World Cup a month before he was born.
In February 2018, Williams received a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[22]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Playoffs[a] | Cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Orlando City U-23 | 2014[25] | PDL | 11 | 7 | – | – | – | 11 | 7 | |||
| Montreal Impact | 2015 | MLS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| FC Montreal (loan) | 2015 | USL | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | 7 | 0 | |||
| Charleston Battery (loan) | 2016 | USL | 27 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 30 | 10 | |
| Atlanta United | 2017 | MLS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 19 | 2 | |||
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Total | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 3 | ||
| Charleston Battery (loan) | 2017 | USL | 22 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 24 | 15 | |
| Atlanta United 2 (loan) | 2018 | USL | 7 | 4 | – | – | – | 7 | 4 | |||
| 2019 | USL Championship | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 3 | |||
| Total | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 | ||
| Columbus Crew SC | 2019 | MLS | 7 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | ||
| Miami FC | 2020 | USL Championship | 16 | 8 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 8 | ||
| Al-Ittihad | 2020–21 | Egyptian Premier League | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 5 | |
| Qadsia SC | 2021–22 | Kuwaiti Premier League | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 3 | |
| New Mexico United | 2022 | USL Championship | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | |
| Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 2023 | USL Championship | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 32 | 15 | |
| Hartford Athletic | 2024 | USL Championship | 11 | 2 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 12 | 3 | ||
| Indy Eleven | 2024 | USL Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 208 | 75 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 220 | 78 | ||
- ^ All appearances in the USL Cup Playoffs
- ^ All appearances in the U.S. Open Cup
International
edit- As of 9 September 2018[26]
| Jamaica | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 10 | 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 2 |
- Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first.[27]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 July 2017 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States |  Curaçao | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2. | 20 July 2017 | University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States |  Canada | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
Honours
editJamaica
- CONCACAF Gold Cup runner-up: 2017
Atlanta United
Individual
References
edit- ^ "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Jamaica" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 9. Retrieved 21 May 2019 – via Bernews.
- ^ Tenorio, Paul. "UCF forward Romario Williams a top prospect in next week's MLS SuperDraft". Orlandosentinel.com.
- ^ "CONCACAF Q&A: Romario Williams (Charleston Battery and Jamaica)". Concacaf.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Regular Season Awards". TheAmerican.org. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Recap: Montreal 2–2 Orlando". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Atlanta United make roster moves during active MLS half-day trade window". Atlutd.com. 11 December 2016.
- ^ Crew SC Communications (1 July 2019). "Columbus Crew SC acquires forward Romario Williams in trade with Atlanta United". ColumbusCrewSC.com. Columbus Crew SC. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ Russo, Ken (2 January 2020). "Miami FC sign Romario Williams".
- ^ "Reggae Boy Romario Williams off to Egypt". 8 December 2020.
- ^ "الجامايكي روماريو خامس المحترفين في صفوف القادسية". 8 December 2020.
- ^ "United Signs Goal-Scoring International Striker Romario Williams".
- ^ Cutler, Tyler (5 January 2023). "Switchbacks FC Sign Forward Romario Williams". switchbacksfc.com. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ "Veteran Goal Scorer Romario Williams Signs with Hartford Athletic".
- ^ "RECAP: Hartford Beat El Paso 1-0 in Season Opener". hartfordathletic.com. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "2024 Player Stats". Hartford Athletic. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Indy Eleven Acquires Romario Williams from Hartford Athletic". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ "Orange County 1-0 Indy XI (Jun 22, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Recap - IND 0:1 OC". Indy Eleven. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Joey Strizzi (10 March 2015). "Romario Williams with National Team | Montreal Impact". Impactmontreal.com. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ^ "Boyz clip Suriname 1-0, progress to CFU semis - Sport - JamaicaObserver.com". Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ "Atlanta United secures green card for Williams". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
- ^ Romario Williams at Major League Soccer
- ^ Romario Williams at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ "Romario Williams – 2014 PDL statistics". USLLeagueTwo.com. Premier Development League. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ^ Romario Williams at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Williams, Romario". National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
External links
edit- Romario Williams at Major League Soccer
- Romario Williams at Soccerway
- UCF profile