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Atiba Harris

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Atiba Erasto Harris
Harris in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-01-09) 9 January 1985 (age 39)[1]
Place of birth Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
St. Peters FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2005 Cádiz 0 (0)
2003–2004 → Linares (loan)
2006–2007 Real Salt Lake 43 (4)
2008–2009 Chivas USA 42 (5)
2009–2010 FC Dallas 41 (6)
2011–2012 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 12 (2)
2013 Colorado Rapids 29 (5)
2014 San Jose Earthquakes 24 (4)
2015–2017 FC Dallas 84 (5)
2018 Murciélagos 3 (0)
2018–2020 Oklahoma City Energy 55 (4)
International career‡
2003–2020 Saint Kitts and Nevis 63 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 October 2020
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2018

Atiba Erasto Harris (born 9 January 1985) is a Kittitian football administrator and former professional footballer. He captained the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team.

As of August 2021, he serves as President of the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association.

Career

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Club

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Harris played for St. Peters FC as a youngster, captaining them to the SKNFA Premier League Finals, and became the first player from St. Kitts-Nevis to sign with a Spanish club when he signed in Spain with Cádiz in 2003–04.

In 2006, he became the first St. Kitts player to sign with Major League Soccer.[citation needed] He signed with Salt Lake and scored four goals and recorded one assist in 12 starts.

In December 2007, Harris was traded to Chivas USA for a third-round pick in the 2008 SuperDraft.[2] After a season and a half with Chivas USA, the Goats traded Harris in July 2009 to FC Dallas in exchange for Marcelo Saragosa.[3] Harris ended his Chivas USA career with 42 appearances, 5 goals, and 7 assists.

On 12 September 2009, in a match against Los Angeles Galaxy, Harris scored his first goal with FC Dallas off a Dax McCarty cross. He went on to score another goal vs Seattle finishing the season with two goals and five assists for FC Dallas and four goals and seven assists overall for the 2009 MLS season. Harris was a key player for Dallas in 2010 scoring four goals during the season and helping the club reach its first MLS Cup final.

He was selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft.[4] Harris suffered an injury and missed most of the 2011 season. He stayed with Vancouver throughout the 2012 season before being traded to Colorado Rapids in December 2012 in exchange for an international roster spot.[5]

After one season in Colorado Harris was traded to San Jose Earthquakes in January 2014 in exchange for Marvin Chávez.[6]

Harris stayed one season in San Jose before entering the 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft in December 2014. He was selected in stage two of the draft by FC Dallas.[7] During his second stint in Dallas, head coach Óscar Pareja mostly used Harris as a right fullback.

International

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Harris has played for the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team since 2003 and served as team captain. He played in five of St. Kitts' 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying games, and in its 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Belize on 6 February 2008.[8]

Post-playing career

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In May 2021, following his retirement from playing, Harris declared his candidacy for president of the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association,[9][10] which he won on 29 August.[11]

Under his leadership, the Saint Kitts and Nevis men's national team has qualified for its country’s first major tournament when they qualified for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup in the United States.

Career statistics

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International goals

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Scores and results list Saint Kitts and Nevis's goal tally first.[12]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 September 2006 Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda  Barbados 1–1 1–1 2007 Caribbean Cup qualification
2. 3 April 2010 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis  Guadeloupe 1–0 3–0 Friendly
3. 10 October 2010 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis  Anguilla 2–0 2–0 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification
4. 5 September 2014 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis  Dominica 3–0 5–0 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
5. 7 September 2014 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis  Guyana 2–0 2–0 2014 Caribbean Cup qualification
6. 23 March 2015 Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis  Turks and Caicos Islands 1–0 6–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7. 16 June 2015 Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador  El Salvador 1–3 1–4 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8. 14 October 2018 Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre, The Valley, Anguilla  Saint Martin 1–0 10–0 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
9. 2–0
10. 7–0

Personal life

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Harris is from Monkey Hill, Saint Kitts. He is the son of Sonia Williams of Gingerland, Nevis, and Egbert Harris of St. Peter's, St. Kitts. He has two older sisters along with a younger brother, Kareem Harris, who is also a footballer. He and his wife Rachael Harris have four daughters.

He is the cousin of English former footballer Micah Richards.[13]

Honours

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FC Dallas

Legacy

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On 14 February 2020, the sporting facility in his hometown St. Peter's was renamed the Atiba Erasto Harris Sporting Complex. This facility hosts a football field along with both a basketball and a netball court.[14] On 29 August 2021, Harris became the youngest president of the SKNFA at the age of 36. 1st President to lead his country to a major tournament when the St. Kitts-Nevis Senior Men’s Team qualified for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup in the United States.

References

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  1. ^ FIFA.com
  2. ^ "Chivas USA acquires Harris from RSL". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Sports – Chivas USA acquires Saragosa in trade – Seattle Times Newspaper". Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Prost Amerika". Prost Amerika. 24 November 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Rapids acquire Atiba Harris in trade with Vancouver". Colorado Rapids. Retrieved 4 November 2014.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "San Jose Earthquakes deal Marvin Chavez to Colorado Rapids for Atiba Harris". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  7. ^ "San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo each grab two players in Stage 2 of Re-Entry Draft". MLSsoccer.com.
  8. ^ "FIFA Match Report: Belize vs. Saint Kitts and Nevis". Fifa.com. 7 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  9. ^ Williams, Sean A. (21 May 2021). "St Kitts flagbearer Atiba Harris hangs up boots". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  10. ^ Dixon, Loshaun (27 August 2021). "SKNFA Election This Sunday". The St Kitts & Nevis Observer. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  11. ^ Dixon, Loshaun (30 August 2021). "Atiba Harris New President Of The SKNFA". The St Kitts & Nevis Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Harris, Atiba". National Football Teams. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Summer tour: Micah meets Whitecaps cousin – Manchester City FC". Mcfc.co.uk. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  14. ^ "St. Peter's Playing Field Renamed the Atiba Erasto Harris Sporting Complex".
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