Real Salt Lake defender Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally is dropping his longtime nickname and will now go by his given first name of Abdoulie.
Mansally had been called Kenny for years, picking up the nickname in his native Gambia and going by it throughout his MLS career, which began in 2007 in New England. He said on Wednesday that he made the switch back to his given first name - pronounced ab-do-LYE - in order to remind people of who he is and where he came from.
The 24-year-old Mansally played all 90 minutes for injured left back Chris Wingert in RSL's 2-0 season opening win at San Jose on Sunday. The Gambian international and his Real Salt Lake teammates are traveling on Thursday to the nation's capital ahead of this Saturday's match against D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Kick for the game is at 5:00 p.m. MT on ABC4.
