Abdul Aziz Issah

Abdul Aziz Issah
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-11-20) 20 November 2005 (age 19)
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona B
Number 15
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Dreams 49 (8)
2024– → Barcelona B (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
2023– Ghana U20 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:06, 24 August 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Abdul Aziz Issah (born 20 November 2005) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona Atlètic on loan from Ghana Premier League side Dreams FC.

Issah began his career with Dreams FC's youth team setup before being promoted to its senior team in 2022. Since then, he gained prominence by helping the club win their first-ever Ghana FA Cup trophy, thus gaining qualification for the 2023–24 CAF Confederation Cup. He finished as the joint-top scorer in the latter competition's season alongside then-teammate John Antwi and was a key player in both the Ghana Premier League and FA Cup campaigns. Internationally, Issah was part of the Ghana under-20 team that won gold at the 13th African Games in 2024.

Club career

[edit]

Issah started his career playing for the youth setup of Dreams FC before being promoted to the senior team in 2022. He made his debut on 17 September 2023 coming on in as a late substitute in the 90th minute for Ishmael Dede in a 1–0 goal over against Kotoku Royals.[1] He emerged as a key player for the team in his first season. He quickly emerged as a key player for the team in his debut season, gaining prominence in the Ghana FA Cup. Issah scored the opening goal in the final of the 2022–23 Ghana FA Cup, contributing to Dreams FC's 2–0 victory over King Faisal Babes.[2] His performance helped Dreams to secure their first top-flight trophy ever, which also qualified them for the CAF Confederations Cup for the first time in the club's history.[3][4]

At the end of the season, Issah was nominated for Ghana FA Cup Player of the Season and the Ghana FA Cup Discovery of the Season.[5] He won the Discovery of the Season award but lost the Player of the Season title to Samuel Adom Antwi.[6]

On 5 November 2023, Issah scored a stunning freekick in the 39th minute, securing a 1–0 away victory over Asante Kotoko, marking Dreams FC's first away win of the season and their first-ever Premier League away victory over Asante Kotoko.[7][8]

Issah continued his excellent form in continental competition. On 3 December 2023, he scored his first continental competition goal, netting the second goal in a 2–1 victory over Rivers United in the group stage of 2023–24 CAF Confederation Cup.[9][10] In their third group match, he scored again to help Dreams to a 3–2 victory over Angolan side Académica do Lobito sending the team to the top of Group C.[11][12] His performances led Dreams FC reach the semi-finals of the competition, where he finished as the top goal scorer with four goals and provided two assists in 10 matches.[13] In addition to his contributions in the CAF competition, Issah played a crucial role in Dreams FC's 2023–24 Ghana Premier League campaign, scoring 7 goals in 24 matches. He also maintained his strong form in the FA Cup, netting 4 goals in 5 games.[13]

On 3 September 2024, FC Barcelona announced the loan signing of Issah from Dreams FC for €1 million.[14] He was assigned to FC Barcelona Atlètic for the 2024–25 season, with the agreement including an option to buy at the end of the loan period, which runs until 30 June 2025.[15] Abdul Aziz Issah finally resolves his bureaucracy issues and joins Barça Atlétic. On 6 November 2024. Abdul Aziz Issah made his first debut match for Barça Atlétic against Real Sociedad B.[16]

International career

[edit]

Issah was called up to the Ghana under-20 national team in 2023 and was selected for the final Black Satellites team for the 13th African Games, held in Ghana.[17][18] On 12 March 2024, in their second group stage match against Gambia, Issah scored Ghana's second goal in a 3–1 victory.[19] He played in all five matches of the tournament, helping the team secure the gold medal in the final against Uganda.[20][21]

Honours

[edit]

Dreams

Ghana U20

Individual

Nominations

[edit]

In October 2024, he was nominated for the Young Player of the Year,[23] and also nominated for the Men's Interclub Player of the Year category at the 2024 CAF Awards.[24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Match Report of Dreams FC vs Kotoku Royals Rush FC - 2022-09-17 - betPawa Premier League". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Dreams FC lifts MTN FA Cup with King Faisal win". Ghana Football Association. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  3. ^ "I informed my friends to anticipate my goal - Abdul Aziz Issah after scoring in FA Cup final for Dreams FC". Ghanasoccernet. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Dreams FC youngster Abdul Aziz Issah eyes Black Stars call-up ahead of 2023 AFCON". Ghanasoccernet. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ "GFA Awards: Nominees for MTN FA Cup Award categories announced". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "MTN FA Cup Winners Dreams FC pick three awards at maiden GFA Awards". Ghana Football Association. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  7. ^ Bannerman-Quartey, Raphael (5 November 2023). "Match Review : Dreams FC's Abdul Aziz Issah inflicts pain on Kotoko • Sahara Football". Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Disappointed Prosper Ogum urges Asante Kotoko fans to keep supporting team after home loss to Dreams FC". Ghanasoccernet. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  9. ^ "CAF Confederation Cup: Dreams FC pick up first win against Nigeria's Rivers United". My Joy Online. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Abdul Aziz Issah admits tough battle as Dreams FC triumph over Rivers United in CAF Confederations Cup". Ghanasoccernet. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Dreams strike late to edge thriller and go top in Angola". Confederation of African Football (CAF). 10 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  12. ^ "CAF Confederation Cup: Dreams FC clinch thrilling away victory against Academica Do Lobito". Ghanasoccernet. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  13. ^ a b "EXCLUSIVE: Barcelona hand trial to Ghanaian wonderkid Abdul Aziz Issah ahead of possible transfer". Ghanasoccernet. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  14. ^ "REVEALED: Barcelona paid 1 million euros for Ghanaian winger Abdul Aziz Issah". Ghana Soccernet. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Aziz Issah to join Barça Atlètic on loan". FC Barcelona. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Aziz Issah and David Oduro impress in official debut for Barcelona B - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  17. ^ Tong, Vinyl (6 March 2024). "Aziz Issah named in Black Satellites final squad for African Games". Sahara Football. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  18. ^ "African Games: Aziz Issah joins Head Coach for today's pre-match presser ahead of Ghana vs Benin". Ghana Football Association. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  19. ^ "African Games: Red-hot Black Satellites beat Gambia to move on top of Group A". Ghana Football Association. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Dreams FC set $1.5 million minimum price-tag for playmaking prodigy and Nottingham Forest target Abdul Aziz Issah". Ghana Soccernet. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  21. ^ a b "Black Satellites win Gold after beating Uganda in African Games final". Ghana Football Association. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  22. ^ "2024 Ghana Football Awards: Full list of all winners at the 6th edition". GhanaWeb. 30 June 2024.
  23. ^ "CAF Awards 2024: Aziz Issah nominated for Young Player of the Year - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  24. ^ "CAF Awards 2024: Aziz Issah and John Antwi nominated for Interclub Player of the Year - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.


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