Amir Richardson

Michael Amir Junior Richardson (ميخائيل أمير جونيور ريتشاردسون; born 24 January 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Reims. Born in France, he plays for the Morocco national team.

Le Havre
Richardson came through the ranks of OGC Nice youth system, before joining Le Havre AC.

He made his professional debut for on 15 May 2021, starting the Ligue 2 game against the league champions ESTAC Troyes. On 9 July 2021, he signed his first professional contract with Le Havre. He was named Ligue 2's Pépite du mois ("Nugget of the Month") for December 2021 and was considered by many sources to have been one of the revelations of the 2021–22 season.

Reims
On 1 September 2022, he transferred to Reims signing a contract until 2026. He returned to Le Havre on loan for the 2022–23 season where he was part of the team that won the Ligue 2 championship and named in the UNFP Team of the Year.

Richardson made his Ligue 1 debut for Reims in a 2–1 loss to Olympique Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome on 12 August 2023. He scored his first goal in Ligue 1 in a 2–1 loss to Stade Brestois on 17 September 2023.

International career
Richardson is the son of the American former basketball player Micheal Ray Richardson and a French-Moroccan mother, Ilham Ngadi, born in Fez. He played for the France U20s in 2021. He was called up to the Morocco U23s in March 2023. Born in France, Richardson is eligible to represent either France, Morocco or the United States at international level.

In June 2023, he was included in the final squad of the Moroccan under-23 national team for the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted by Morocco itself, where the Atlas Lions won their first title  and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

In May 2023, Richardson was approached by the United States Soccer Federation, to see if the player would be willing to change his allegiance to the United States national team. This appears to have been ultimately turned down.

In September 2023, Richardson made his senior debut for the Morocco national team, in a 1-0 winning effort against Burkina Faso. Richardson was included in the official Morocco 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad.

Honours
Morocco U23
 * U-23 Africa Cup of Nations: 2023

Individual
 * UNFP Ligue 2 Team of the Year: 2022–23