Doneil Henry

Doneil Henry (born April 20, 1993) is a Canadian soccer coach and former professional soccer player. He currently serves as a special advisor for player development and engagement of MLS club Toronto FC.

A product of the Toronto FC Academy, Henry became the club's first-ever homegrown signing in 2010 and went on to be the first Toronto FC academy player sold for a transfer fee, joining Cypriot side Apollon Limassol in 2013 before moving to Premier League club West Ham United later that year. He spent the following decade on loan and permanent moves through Blackburn Rovers, AC Horsens and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, before a spell in South Korea with Suwon Samsung Bluewings and a return to Major League Soccer with Los Angeles FC and Minnesota United; he closed out his club career at HFX Wanderers FC in the Canadian Premier League, retiring in February 2025.

Henry represented Canada at senior level from 2012 to 2021, earning 44 caps and appearing at multiple editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League, and was part of the squad that secured Canada's qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup before a late injury ruled him out of the final tournament roster.

Club career Early career Henry's parents, Beverly and Menocal Henry, moved to Canada from Jamaica. He started playing soccer at age 10 and played youth soccer with the Brampton Youth Soccer Club and North Mississauga SC. Henry has said he was cut from a provincial team around age 16 and feared his football career was over before Toronto FC's academy came calling, adding that the club "saved my life" at a time when he had no interest in pursuing his Princeton offers and only wanted to become a professional footballer.< He has recalled the demands of academy life, including having to catch the GO Train to training by 6:10 or 6:15 each morning alongside a small group of teammates that dwindled over time until he was making the commute alone. He appeared for Toronto FC in the 2010 Nutrilite Canadian Championship against the Vancouver Whitecaps and a 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League qualifying match against Motagua. He also made his MLS debut and played in another 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League match against Árabe Unido during the 2010 season. He also played in an international friendly against Bolton Wanderers. After coming on for Richard Eckersley in the second half against Real Salt Lake on April 28, 2012, he scored his first goal for Toronto in the 77th minute in a 3–2 away defeat. On August 21, the club announced that it had re-signed him to a long-term deal. During the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, he made four appearances during the 2011 season and an appearance during the 2012 season. He also made two appearances in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League during the 2012 season.

Henry scored his second goal for Toronto outside the penalty box in a 2–0 home victory over rival Montreal Impact in the Canadian Championship on April 24, 2013. Prior to the 2014 season, he spent some time training with Premier League side West Ham United. After scoring mid-week in the Canadian Championship against Montreal Impact, he scored the 92nd-minute game winner against Columbus Crew in a 3–2 home victory May 31, 2014.

Apollon Limassol Henry was sold to 2014–15 UEFA Europa League and Cypriot First Division participants Apollon Limassol, for an undisclosed fee in April 2014 prior to the commencement of the 2014 MLS season. Founded in 1954 and based in Limassol, Apollon competed in the group stage of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League during Henry's time with the club. Toronto FC confirmed that the deal had a sell-on clause and they intended to enter into talks with Henry and Apollon Limassol with hope of keeping him on loan again for the 2015 MLS season. Henry never made a competitive appearance for Apollon, remaining on loan with Toronto FC for the 2014 season before completing his move to West Ham United the following year. Henry has pointed to this transfer as a career milestone, noting that it made him the first Toronto FC academy player both signed by the club and later sold for a transfer fee. Henry has described the ordeal of finally joining the club as, in his words, "heartbreaking": an initial training stint that was only supposed to last ten days went so well that West Ham wanted to sign him within the week, but a work permit denial delayed the transfer by roughly a year until an appeal succeeded. This was his only appearance and he left the club in December 2017 when his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

Loans to Blackburn Rovers On March 4, Henry was loaned by West Ham to Blackburn Rovers in the Football League Championship, on a one-month loan. He made his debut on the same day against Sheffield Wednesday, a 2–1 win for Rovers, a performance described by Rovers' manager, Gary Bowyer as "magnificent". Henry has recalled that this loan spell began so abruptly he only had time to collect his kit and meet his new teammates before playing that same evening, without a prior training session with the squad. In his third game for Blackburn, a 3–1 away win against Charlton Athletic, he sustained a hamstring injury that ended his season. With his loan cut short, he returned to West Ham United. Henry has said the injury shifted perceptions of him in English football, from doubts about his ability to concerns about his durability, in his words: "it was that Doneil was never able to stay fit long enough."

Loan to AC Horsens On August 31, 2016, Henry was loaned by West Ham to Danish Superliga club AC Horsens for half a season. On October 23 Henry started his first game in the starting line-up, against Randers FC. The game resulted in a clean sheet and 1–0 victory for Horsens and Henry. In Henry's second start with Horsens, he suffered an ACL tear, which would end his season. He went back to West Ham in start of January 2017. Henry has said that his spell at AC Horsens, was marked by further injuries that limited his ability to build momentum in his career. On April 25, 2018, Henry was loaned to United Soccer League club Ottawa Fury until the end of May. According to Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson, the goal of the loan was to help Henry reach full fitness by getting competitive match time. On May 29, he was reported to have returned to Vancouver.

He scored his first league goal for Vancouver against Minnesota United in Vancouver's 2019 MLS season opener on March 2.

Over two seasons with Vancouver, Henry made 42 appearances, including 25 league matches in 2019, and scored four goals in 2019; he has said this period allowed him to "find his footing again in Vancouver" after several years of minimal playing time in Europe. Henry has described the move as "another fresh start" in his career, saying that playing in South Korea has been "a blessing when it comes to travelling and going to different parts of the world" and that he has met great people and enjoyed the chance to learn about their culture. Henry scored his first goal for the club on October 31, netting the opener in a 2–1 victory over Gangwon FC.

Los Angeles FC

In February 2022, Henry returned to MLS, signing with Los Angeles FC. On February 26, Henry made his debut with the club during LAFC's 3–0 win over the Colorado Rapids. Henry came into the match at the 86th minute as a substitute for Jesús Murillo. On July 3, 2022, after only appearing in 6 matches, Henry was waived by the club.

Return to Toronto FC On July 22, 2022, Henry returned to his former club Toronto FC, signing a six-month deal through the end of 2022. He made his re-debut for Toronto the next day against Charlotte FC. After the end of the 2022 season, he departed the club, upon the expiry of his contract.

Minnesota United In December 2022, Minnesota United announced they had claimed Henry off waivers for the 2023 season.

HFX Wanderers In July 2023, he signed a contract with the HFX Wanderers FC of the Canadian Premier League for the remainder of the 2023 season, with an option for the 2024 season. He made his debut for the Wanderers on July 23, subbing into their match against Atlético Ottawa late into the second-half of an eventual 1-0 victory.

International career

Youth Henry played three matches for the Canada U-20 men's national soccer team.

He was selected for the Canada U23 roster to partake in the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. After sitting out the first game, he started and scoring the opening goal against the United States U23 as part of a 2–0 victory for Canada.

Senior Henry earned his first cap for Canada's senior team August 15, 2012, in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago under head coach Stephen Hart. He started the match before being subbed out at halftime for Pedro Pacheco, the game ended in a 2–0 victory. On December 10, 2012, he was awarded the 2012 Canadian U-20 Player of the Year, receiving 37.8% of the vote and just beating out Samuel Piette for the award.

On June 27, 2013, Henry was listed as a part of the confirmed 23-man squad for Colin Miller's Canada squad for 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Henry was named to the squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on May 30, 2019. He scored his first goal for Canada on September 7, 2019, against Cuba in a CONCACAF Nations League match. Henry was named to the squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 1, 2021.

Henry was expected to be named to the Canada squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but during the warm-up prior to a pre-tournament friendly against Bahrain on November 11, he suffered a calf injury that ultimately ruled him out of the final squad.

Henry has described his roughly decade-long international career as coinciding with a marked cultural shift within the national team, saying that "the team is night and day, like the mentality of the professionals, the players, the quality, the preparation with everything that's going on." Henry joined the ownership group alongside former Toronto FC teammate and mentor Julian De Guzman, the club's President and Managing Partner, as well as fellow Canadian international Cyle Larin. Shortly thereafter, he was named as the head coach, following the firing of the regular head coach. For the 2025 season, Henry remained the Rovers' head coach and sporting director. Henry resigned from Simcoe County Rovers FC in December 2025, ahead of his move to the professional coaching ranks.

Henry made his international coaching debut as an assistant coach with Canada's U17 men's national team at the 4 Nations Tournament in Mexico. Henry made his senior international coaching debut with Canada as an assistant coach in a friendly versus Guatemala on January 17, 2026 in Los Angeles; Canada beat Guatemala 1–0.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first. No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 1. September 7, 2019 BMO Field, Toronto, Canada 29 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A

Honours Toronto FC Canadian Championship: 2010,