The star of Bayern Munich, who claims he will never be scared to express himself or speak his thoughts, is one of the sport’s most approachable players at the moment.
About four and a half years have passed since Alphonso Davies made his public debut.He was only a teenager at the time, wearing braces for his teeth, and he probably had some jitters running through him.
The name of Davies, much alone his narrative, would have only been known to the most devoted of North American admirers. He was still a child, after all, only 17 years old.
But there he was, delivering a passionate speech to a packed house of FIFA dignitaries. He described how Canada welcomed him and his family as they left Liberia’s civil war as part of a tumultuous existence that brought him from Ghana to Edmonton to Vancouver and, as we now know, to superstardom in Munich.
On that day, as he pushed to bring the 2026 World Cup to North America, he spoke about what a World Cup would mean to him and his country.
That 17-year-old boy has long since vanished, replaced by a 22-year-old man who has accomplished far more than he could have anticipated. He’s already a Champions League winner, one of the best players in his position, and a role model for young players worldwide.
He’s also his country’s biggest-ever soccer star, having helped earn Canada a spot in the 2026 World Cup and then qualifying for the 2022 edition.And he’s eager to drag everyone else along for the adventure, as he has done since bursting onto the scene.
Davies is anxious to demonstrate the excitement of it all, from his Twitch streams to his social media presence. Davies displays his fandom in a world where most footballers remain robotic and secure.
There’s nothing buttoned up about the genuine joy he exudes, from the shouts to the smiles. He cherishes both his big moments and his modest ones.
Davies’ superpower is how approachable he feels off the field considering how fantastic he is on it, whether it’s watching his country play a crucial qualifier on stream or going bananas over a FIFA pack.
Alphonso Davies statement
“It’s just me being me,” he says. “I was a football fan before I was a professional so the fan in me comes out with FIFA, with watching videos, all of the stuff like that. It’s just how I am, and I’m not planning on changing.
“On the pitch, people know me as Davies No.19, the footballer. Now, I’m sure they know a little bit more about my life, how I am when they see me in person.
“I think it’s important, especially for football fans nowadays. They’re getting younger and younger, and they want to see that human side of the players and they want to relate to the players.”And not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well by seeing what they do, how they do it and how they go about their day-to-day life.”
Davies’ openness and zeal are undoubtedly working in his favor, given how quickly he has dominated the world in recent years. From his debut with the Vancouver Whitecaps until his travel to Qatar this November, he hasn’t stopped moving at the same rate he races across the pitch.But that’s not to say it’s been an easy trip by any means.
There are no easy pathways for those like Davies, who had to struggle for everything they had. But, in some ways, that’s perhaps what makes it so sweet: the fact that it shouldn’t be genuine given everything he’s been through.
There’s the obvious story of his upbringing, which is now well-known.
Davies, the fourth of six siblings born in a refugee camp in Ghana to Liberian parents, has had an almost unbelievable experience.
His family relocated to Canada in 2005 after fleeing the Second Liberian Civil War. He became a Canadian citizen 12 years later and has committed his life to assisting refugees as well as his adopted country, Canada.
“I want to put myself on the podium to show that refugees are human beings,” he said. “Given the opportunities, we can be footballers or doctors because we’re human beings as well.
“I feel like people have a negative view when they hear the word refugee and I’m trying to change that into a positive thing.”
