5 interesting things to know about Ghana Black Stars striker Abdul Majeed Waris

Here are five things you should know about Abdul Majeed Waris:

Waris was born on 19th September 1991 in Tamale and joined the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana at the age of 12 in 2003, where he graduated after five years in 2008. He later moved to England and joined Hartpury College in 2008. He gained a place at the Nike Academy the same year before featuring for the reserve side of Forest Green Rovers. It didn’t take long for Waris to sign a professional contract when Swedish top-flight side Hacken came knocking in 2010.

The 33-year-old has had an illustrious career, playing for nine different clubs in Europe. He started his professional football career in Sweden and made a €2.9 million move to Russia when he joined Spartak Moscow in 2013. His time in Russia was short, with a loan move to Valenciennes in France, followed by a loan to Trabzonspor in Turkey, where he made 29 appearances. His second-best scoring club was in France, where he netted 25 goals during his second stint, after scoring 30 goals at Hacken. Waris’ second loan move was to FC Porto, where he landed a permanent transfer after impressing. He then made a double stop at French clubs Strasbourg and Nantes, before last playing in Cyprus for Anorthosis in the 2023/24 season.

Waris has contributed over 118 goals in his senior club career. He has scored 82 goals and provided 38 assists since his senior debut 14 years ago. His best scoring season was in 2012, when he found the back of the net 26 times in 35 appearances. However, he failed to score despite playing in two UEFA Champions League matches.

Waris has played 32 times for the Black Stars, featuring in 13 friendly matches, nine AFCON qualifiers, three World Cup qualifiers, and 71 minutes in Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal at the 2014 Mundial in Brazil. He scored four goals in national colours.

Waris is a devoted Muslim and prays Salat before and after every game. He married his ex-wife in 2017 when she was 21 years old. Their marriage has been in the media for various reasons, with a 2018 report suggesting that the footballer was denied access to his son just 16 months into their marriage. Habiba Sinare allegedly packed up and left their home in France without warning, returning to Ghana with their six-month-old son. The couple divorced within that time frame.