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Paco Craig (English footballer)

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Paco Craig
Craig playing for Louisville City in 2017
Personal information
Full name Paco Gigi Craig
Date of birth (1992-10-19) 19 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 North Carolina FC
Number 2
Youth career
2008–2011 West Ham United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Young Harris Mountain Lions 57 (17)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Bishop's Stortford 22 (1)
2013 Rocket City United
2015 Ocala Stampede 14 (1)
2016–2019 Louisville City 85 (7)
2020 Wycombe Wanderers 0 (0)
2021–2023 Miami FC 91 (6)
2024– North Carolina FC 32 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 13, 2024

Paco Gigi Craig (born 19 October 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for North Carolina FC in the USL Championship. He is the son of Mikey Craig, bass player of the band Culture Club.[1]

Early life

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Personal

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Paco Craig was born in London, England to Lilli and Mikey Craig and has two brothers as well as one half-brother and one half-sister.[2] At the urging of his father he played both football and was a drummer in a band with his brother.[3] He attended secondary school at Dame Alice Owen where he played rugby, football, and basketball and was named captain of his football team.[4]

College and youth career

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Craig played in the West Ham United youth system from 2008[5] to 2011. Following his release he went on trial with League Two side Gillingham before spending a season with National League North club Bishop's Stortford.[3]

Not wanting to play non-league football, Craig moved to the U.S. and played three years of college soccer at Young Harris College between 2013 and 2015. In each of Craig's three seasons with the team, Young Harris College won the Peach Belt Conference title while winning the Peach Belt Conference Tournament twice. As a Freshman Craig won the Conference's Freshman of the Year award as well as winning the Conference's Player of the Year award as a Junior. Craig was the second player to win both awards during his career. He finished his career with 17 goals and 14 assists in 57 matches.[6]

While at college, Craig played one season for the National Premier Soccer League side Rocket City United and two seasons for the Ocala Stampede of the Premier Development League.[3] Over the course of his two seasons with Ocala, Craig appeared in 26 matches, scoring three goals with one assist.[7] In both of his years with the Stampede, the team won the PDL's Southeastern Conference and made the national semi-final with Craig being named to the All Conference team in 2015.[8]

Club career

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Louisville City FC

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2016 season

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Craig signed his first professional contract with United Soccer League club Louisville City FC on 14 March 2016.[9] He made his professional debut on 16 April against FC Cincinnati.[10] He appeared in 15 of Louisville's 28 regular season matches scoring one goal with one assist. He played in one of Louisville's two US Open Cup matches as well as all three of Louisville's USL Cup matches.[8] In the Eastern Conference finals match against the New York Red Bulls II Craig scored Louisville's lone goal and was sent off in extra time. Louisville lost the match on penalties.[11]

2017 season

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Craig missed the first game of the 2017 season while serving a suspension for being sent off in the Eastern Conference Finals match from the previous season.[12] He made his season debut on 30 March against Orlando City B and went onto play in 21 of Louisville's 32 regular season matches.[8] He scored two goals which occurred in consecutive games on 22[13] and 29 July [14] against Saint Louis FC and New York Red Bulls II respectively as well as registering two assists. In addition he appeared in one of Louisville's US Open Cup matches and all four of their USL Cup matches. At the end of the season he was named to the USL All League First Team.[15] He was second in USL Defender of the year voting.[16] Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final against Swope Park.[17]

2018 season

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Craig had his contract renewed with Louisville City FC.[18] He made his season debut on 17 March against USL expansion side Nashville SC.[19] Craig appeared in 32 of Louisville's 34 league matches, missing one match due to a suspension.[20] Craig scored 2 goals. He also appeared in all five of Louisville's U.S. Open Cup matches scoring one goal as Louisville reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in its history.[21] This included a 3–2 victory over the New England Revolution of MLS; Louisville's first victory over an MLS side.[22]

Craig appeared in all four of Louisville's USL Cup playoff matches going goalless. Craig and Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final for the second consecutive season. This time against Phoenix.[23] After the season he was again named to the USL All League First Team[24] and finished second in USL Defender of the year voting behind Forrest Lasso.[25]

Wycombe Wanderers

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On 25 February 2020, Craig signed a one-month contract with Wycombe Wanderers. He played his first game against Hungerford Town on the same evening in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup.[26] However, he never made a league appearance for Wycombe due to his contract expiring during the COVID-19 situation.[27]

Miami FC

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On 13 January 2021, Craig signed with Miami FC of the USL Championship.[28]

North Carolina FC

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Craig signed for North Carolina FC in December 2023, ahead of the club's return to the USL Championship.[29]

Honours

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Club

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Louisville City FC

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ "Hertford News, Sport & What's On in Hertford". Hertsandessexobserver.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. ^ Merola, Marianne (4 January 1999). "Culture Club—Frequently Asked Questions". pairsskating.tripod.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Craig, Paco (12 January 2017). "Interview with Paco Craig of Louisville City FC" (Interview). Interviewed by MLS ACES. MLS ACES. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Paco Craig". yhcathletics.com. Young Harris, GA: Young Harris College. 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. ^ Lerner, Danielle (7 September 2016). "Son of rock star, LouCity's Craig has own Club". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  6. ^ MacEachern, Michael (15 March 2016). "Paco Craig signs pro contract with Louisville City FC". yhcathletics.com. Young Harris, GA: Young Harris College. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Player Stats". Uslpdl.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Paco Craig". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville, KY: LCFC. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. ^ Lintner, Jonathan (14 March 2016). "LouCity signs Transy graduate, other trialists". www.courier-journal.com. Courier Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  10. ^ Didion, Phil (16 April 2016). "PHOTOS: FC CINCINNATI HOSTS LOUISVILLE CITY FC". www.wcpo.com. Cincinnati, OH: WCPO. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  11. ^ Corr, Charlie (16 October 2016). "Meara, NYRBII Bound for USL Cup Final". www.uslsoccer.com. Harrison, NJ: USL. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  12. ^ Lerner, Danielle (17 October 2016). "LouCity's Reynolds, Craig disciplined by USL". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  13. ^ Lee, Chris (22 July 2017). "St Louis FC loses to Louisville City FC 4-1". www.stltoday.com. St Louis, MO: St Louis Today. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  14. ^ Karell, Daniel (30 July 2017). "Spencer header gives Louisville City FC crucial win over defending champions New York Red Bulls II". www.courier-journal.com. Louisville, KY: Courier Journal. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  15. ^ a b "2017 USL All-League Teams Unveiled". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampa, FL: USL. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "Ibeagha Named Defender of the Year". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampa, FL: USL. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2018. Ibeagha received 54 percent of the vote to claim the award, with Louisville City FC's Paco Craig earning 27 percent to finish second and FC Cincinnati's Harrison Delbridge recording 19 percent to finish third.
  17. ^ a b Murray, Nicholas (November 14, 2017). "Louisville's Late Winner Claims USL Cup Victory". www.uslsoccer.com. USL. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "Louisville City FC Announces Roster Changes". www.louisvillecityfc.com. Louisville, KY: LCFC. November 17, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  19. ^ Bacharach, Erik (March 17, 2018). "Nashville SC opens inaugural USL season with loss at Louisville City FC". www.tennessean.com. Louisville, KY: Tennessean. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  20. ^ "USL Discipline Report – Week 17". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampe, FL: USL. July 4, 2018. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  21. ^ Lerner, Danielle (July 18, 2018). "Louisville City FC knocked out of Open Cup with loss to Chicago Fire". www.courier-journal.com. Bridgeview, IL: The Courier Journal. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  22. ^ "RECAP: Revs eliminated from U.S. Open Cup with 3-2 loss to Louisville City FC". www.revolutionsoccer.net. Louisville, KY: New England Revolution. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Arlia, John (November 8, 2018). "Spencer's Strike Leads Louisville to Second Straight USL Cup". www.uslsoccer.com. Louisville, KY: USL. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "2018 USL All-League Teams Revealed". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampa, FL: USL. November 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "Cincinnati's Lasso Earns Defender of the Year Honor". www.uslsoccer.com. Tampe, FL: USL. November 12, 2018. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  26. ^ @wwfcofficial (25 February 2020). "Former Louisville City defender Paco Craig has signed a one-month contract at the club - and starts here at Bulpit…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Willacy, Gavin (2 June 2020). "The footballer who signed his first EFL contract a fortnight before lockdown". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Communications, Miami FC (13 January 2021). "Miami FC Announces Signing of Defender Paco Craig". Miami FC. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  29. ^ "NCFC acquires defender Paco Craig from Miami FC". NorthCarolinaFC.com. North Carolina FC. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  30. ^ Krysinsky, John (November 23, 2021). "Riverhounds SC veteran midfielder Kenardo Forbes named to All-USL Second Team". pittsburghsoccernow.com. Pittsburg, PA: Pittsburg Riverhounds. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  31. ^ "USL Championship Announces 2019 All-League Teams". www.uslchampionship.com. Tampa, FL: USL. November 12, 2019. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  32. ^ "USL Championship Announces 2022 All-League Teams". www.uslchampionship.com. Tampa, FL: USL. November 1, 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
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