Theo Bair

Thelonius "Theo" Bair (born August 27, 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club AJ Auxerre and the Canada national team.

Club career

Youth

Bair started his youth career with Ottawa Royals, before joining Capital United FC and West Ottawa SC before his move to Vancouver.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On July 24, 2018, Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced that it would be signing Bair to a multi-year MLS homegrown pre-contract beginning in 2019. Bair made his Whitecaps FC and MLS debut on matchday 15 of the 2019 MLS season, coming off the bench in the 71st minute in a 2–1 home victory against FC Dallas. On August 11 against the Portland Timbers, He scored his first professional goal.

On August 6, 2021, Bair was loaned to Norwegian club HamKam for the remainder of the 2021 season. In his first appearance on August 18, Bair scored a goal in a 2–0 victory over Jerv. Bair would go on to make 17 appearances in the 1. divisjon, scoring 4 goals as HamKam were crowned champions and gained promotion to the 2022 Eliteserien. In December 2021, upon his return to Vancouver, the Whitecaps announced they had exercised Bair's contract option, keeping him at the club through 2022.

St Johnstone

In January 2022, Bair was transferred to Scottish Premiership club St Johnstone for an undisclosed fee on a contract through the end of the 2023–24 season. He made his debut on February 9 against St Mirren. Bair scored his first goal for the club against Kilmarnock on October 5, 2022. In May 2023, St Johnstone announced Bair would be made available for transfer. On 4 July 2023, Bair and St Johnstone mutually agreed to terminate the contract.

Motherwell

In August 2023, Motherwell announced the signing of Bair to a two-year contract. He made his debut on August 5 against Dundee and scored a goal in an eventual 1–1 draw.

Auxerre

On July 16, 2024, newly-promoted side Auxerre announced the signing of Bair to a four-year deal. He made his debut for the club on August 18, starting Auxerre's first match of the season against Nice.

International career

Youth

Born in Canada, Bair is of Jamaican descent. In 2018, he represented Canada at the U21 level at the 2018 Toulon Tournament. He subsequently played for the Canadian U20 team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and, scoring a goal and two assists in five appearances. Bair was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020, and was named to the final squad ahead of the rescheduled tournament on March 10, 2021.

Senior

In January 2020, Bair was called up to the Canada senior team ahead of friendlies against Barbados and Iceland. He made his debut on January 7 in the first match against Barbados, and scored a goal in a 4–1 victory.

In February 2024, Bair was named to the Canada national team provisional roster for the 2024 Copa América qualifying play-offs against Trinidad and Tobago. In June 2024, Bair was named to Canada's squad contesting the 2024 Copa América.