COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids have loaned 16-year-old forward Dantouma “Yaya” Toure to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC of the USL Championship. Under the terms of the loan agreement, the Rapids retain the right to recall Toure at any point during the remainder of the MLS regular season, subject to all MLS roster compliance guidelines.
“Yaya has already shown great promise for his young age and this move will allow him to build on that potential by earning valuable playing time,” said Pádraig Smith, Colorado Rapids Executive VP & General Manager. “We’ve seen how these loan opportunities have helped some of our young players take the next step in their development and look forward to seeing Yaya follow in a similar path.”
Toure originally signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Rapids on March 4 after the Rapids acquired his Homegrown Priority from the New York Red Bulls. The 16-year-old winger spent the 2020 season with New York Red Bulls II in the USL Championship, scoring three goals and adding three assists in 13 appearances, six of them starts. He has represented the U.S. at the U-16 and U-17 youth national team levels. In February 2020, he was part of the U.S. U-17 squad at the UEFA Development Tournament in England.
TRANSACTION: Colorado Rapids loan forward Dantouma “Yaya” Toure to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship for the remainder of the 2021 season on May 13, 2021.
