Lirim Hajrullahu

Lirim Hajrullahu (born April 24, 1990) is a Kosovar-born Canadian gridiron football placekicker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

On May 27, 1999, the family immigrated to Canada.

They landed in CFB Trenton and spent two weeks at the base before moving to Kingston, Ontario where they spent two months of their summer.

They received classes on the English language, and Hajrullahu received a bicycle through donations.

Due to the lack of soccer infrastructure in his town, he also picked up playing basketball and volleyball.

Hajrullahu credits sports as "a gateway to communicate with other Canadians" which helped him learn English.

He had friends trying out for the football team in grade 9, while Hajrullahu took up soccer.

In the school hallways, he caught the attention of football coach D’Arcy McCardle who "was struck by the student's big frame and thick legs."

McCardle approached him to play on the football team but Harjullahu felt the sport was too dangerous and brushed him off.

After a year of insistence, McCardle told him to try out on the first day of school in grade 10 and if Hajrullahu didn't like it then he wouldn't bother him again.

"I went out for one practice and I fell in love with the game," explained Hajrullahu.

He played right tackle when he was in grade 11, and played as a linebacker, offensive lineman and kicker in grade 12.

He went to Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines and graduated in 2009.

In 2009, Hajrullahu was selected as part of the Canada national junior football team, which competed at the 2009 IFAF Junior World Championship in Canton, Ohio.

Canada beat New Zealand on June 27 to advance to the semi-finals, and beat Japan on July 1 to reach the finals.

Canada secured the silver medal after losing to the United States on July 5.

In 2011, Hajrullahu was selected as part of the Canada national football team, which competed at the 2011 IFAF World Championship in Austria.

Canada won the Group 2 round-robin stage after beating France on July 9, Austria on July 11, and Japan on July 13 to advance to the finals.

Canada secured the silver medal after losing to the United States on July 16.

Hajrullahu attended the University of Western Ontario's School of Kinesiology, receiving his bachelor's degree in sports management in 2013 and his master's degree in management and leadership in 2015.

On January 17, 2014, Hajrullahu was signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

On November 5, Hajrullahu was announced as the winner of the Winnipeg Blue Bomber's Most Outstanding Canadian, Most Outstanding Special Teams, and Most Outstanding Rookie awards.

On November 13, he won the West Division's Most Outstanding Special Teams Award.

Hajrullahu became a free agent on February 9, 2016, and signed with the Toronto Argonauts that same day.

In the 2016 season, he became the first player to score points in the first regular-season CFL game at BMO Field on June 23.

He scored the first CFL points for both a visiting team and the Argonauts.

He conceded a safety to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, then later kicked a field goal for the Argos.

Hamilton won the game, 40–23.

On November 2, Hajrullahu was announced as the winner of the Toronto Argonaut's Most Outstanding Canadian and Most Outstanding Special Teams awards.

He became a Grey Cup champion with the Argonauts after kicking the game-winning field goal in the 105th Grey Cup game (2017) and is a two-time CFL East Division All-Star (2016, 2019).

Hajrullahu played CIS football at Western Ontario and attended Governor Simcoe Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Lirim Hajrullahu was born in Gjilan to father Nijazi Hajrullahu and mother Tevide.

He is of Kosovo Albanian descent.

His father had been a professor at the University of Sarajevo.

Lirim is a middle child, and has an older sister Lume and a younger sister Linda.

As a child growing up in Gjilan, he played soccer during and after school, which is where he learned to kick.

He attended Niagara University – Ontario where he received his MBA in finance in 2017.

Hajrullahu's secondary school football coach D’Arcy McCardle mentioned him to Western Mustangs football coach Greg Marshall during the recruiting process when the two discussed kickers.

Hajrullahu received scholarship opportunities from across Canada and narrowed his choice down between Western and Queen's University, choosing the former.

He credits his kicking talents from persistently kicking the ball, stating "In university, I'd kick from after school until after you couldn't see the light anymore, three or four hours. As a young punter and kicker, you have to develop power and muscle memory."