Halifax Adds Vaughan Azzurri Striker Kosi Nwafornso

The pipeline between Vaughan Azzurri and the Halifax Wanderers has continued to prove fruitful, with the east coast CPL team now confirming the acquisition of Nigerian forward Kosi Nwafornso on a one-year deal with club options for 2024 and 2025.

Nwafornso was lethal in League1 Ontario action last year, bagging 19 goals in 13 games as Gheisar’s Vaughan Azzurri picked up a league championship at the end of an invincible campaign, with Nwafornso bagging a hat trick in the final.

Recap: Vaughan Azzurri Storm To Big L1O Championship Win

The striker had actually been poised to make his Canadian Premier League entrance after signing with Forge in 2021, though an injury curtailed his season.

“Kosi has incredible physical ability, a knack for scoring goals, and has grown in his ability to play with his back to goal that adds to his strong finishing,” Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar – who helmed Vaughan last year – said of the signing.

He becomes the third Vaughan Azzurri player to follow Patrice Gheisar up to the professional level out east, with Riley Ferrazzo and Massimo Ferrin having inked pro deals out there as well.

Nwafornso was born in Abuja, Nigeria and accrued 18 goals for St. Bonaventure University through four years with the NCAA side, though he also featured for both the Charlotte Eagles and Colorado Pride Switchbacks in USL League Two, winning a championship with the former in 2017.

Nwafornso describes the move to Halifax as an absolute no-brainer: he was familiar with the the east coast, where two of his sisters attended university and he himself attended a prior soccer camp with Saint Mary’s University.

While the Nigerian forward will count as an international for the time being, the Wanderers report that he’s in the final stages of applying for his Canadian permanent residency – and once that concludes, he’ll count as a domestic athlete.

“I like playing in Patrice’s system,” adds the forward. “I’m looking forward to playing for him in Halifax in a city I really like, so I’m just excited for the future.”

With the Halifax Wanderers securing two of Vaughan’s coaching staff and three of its players, it’ll be interesting to see how the team fares as Gheisar aims to instill an attacking mentality that, in L1O pastures, proved a winning formula.

Nwafornso arrives to the Halifax Wanderers on a one-year deal with club options for 2024 and 2025.