Illal Osumanu

Abdul Illal Osumanu
Personal information
Date of birth	20 August 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Pittsburgh Riverhounds
Number	28
College career
Years	Team
2016	Charleston Golden Eagles
2017–2019	Marshall Thundering Herd
Senior career*
Years	Team
2017	West Virginia Chaos
2018	Michigan Bucks
2019	West Virginia Alliance
2020–2021	Union Omaha
2023–	Pittsburgh Riverhounds
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2023

Abdul Illal Osumanu (born 20 August 1996) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a defender for Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Championship.^[1]

Career

College and amateur career

Osumanu first attended and played for the Charleston Golden Eagles in 2016.^[2] While there he was an instrumental player in a team that won an MEC Championship and played in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship, overall he made 17 appearances and scored one goal for the team.^[2] After his freshman season, he transferred to NCAA Division I school, the Marshall Thundering Herd, a team 45 minutes away from Charleston, West Virginia in Huntington, West Virginia.^[3] During his three years at Marshall University, Osumanu played in 59 games and scored two goals.^[3] During his senior season, he was an instrumental piece in a historic Marshall side that won the 2019 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament and made it to NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament for the first time.^[4]

While playing in college, Osumanu further played for two teams in USL League Two, these teams were the West Virginia Chaos, now known as West Virginia Alliance FC, and the Michigan Bucks, now known as the Flint City Bucks. He made a total of 17 appearances for the Chaos, while making a further 9 appearances for the Bucks.

Union Omaha

On March 2, 2020, it was announced that Osumanu had signed with Union Omaha and would begin his professional career with the club.^[5] After joining the club prior to the 2020 season, Osumanu made his debut for the club on 25 July 2020 against New England Revolution II.^[6]

Osumanu was a key contributor in Omaha's inaugural season, playing in 15 out of a 16 possible matches for the club.^[7] He started 14 of these matches helping the club to the 2020 USL League One Championship game, however, this match was cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Omaha's team.^[7]^[8] On December 3, 2020, Omaha announced that Osumanu would remain with the club for the 2021 USL League One season.^[9]

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

On 5 April 2023, Osumanu signed a one-year deal with USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds.^[10] After waiting 3 months before his first appearance, Osumanu would get into the Team of the Week after scoring a goal to win the Riverhounds the match against San Diego Loyal SC, 2-1.^[11]^[12]

Career statistics


Clubs	Season	League			U.S. Open Cup		Other		Total
Clubs	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
West Virginia Chaos	2017	USL League Two	11	0	–		–		11	0
Michigan Bucks	2018	USL League Two	9	1	1	0	–		10	1
West Virginia Alliance FC	2019	USL League Two	6	1	–		–		6	1
Union Omaha	2020	USL League One	15	0	–		0	0	15	0
	2021	USL League One	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
Career Total			46	2	1	0	0	0	47	2

Personal

On 2 June 2021, Osumanu was named among nine people in an indictment charging them with defrauding 200 people out of at least $2.5 million. Osumanu was charged with six counts; two mail fraud charges, two wire-fraud charges, one money-laundering charge, and a charge of receiving stolen money. Osumanu is alleged to have “participated in a series of romance and other online scams designed to coerce vulnerable victims into sending money to various bank accounts controlled by them".^[13]