Forward Darren Smith is preparing for his first season with Le Rouge. Smith was brought in from Finnish side FC Inter Turku on a two-year guaranteed deal.
Smith has spent the last two seasons of his career in Finland with Veikkausliiga side FC Inter Turku. The forward played an integral role in Turku’s journey in the 2024 Finnish League Cup, scoring five goals in six cup matches, including a penalty conversion in the final minutes of normal time and contributing during penalties against KuPS, helping Turku secure their second Finnish League Cup. Smith also scored five goals in six cup matches during the 2024 Finnish Cup campaign, in which the club reached the final to face KuPS once again, but Turku fell in extra time this time. Throughout those two seasons in the Finnish top division, Smith played 72 matches and netted 28 goals for the club.
Before joining Turku, Smith played a season in the Moroccan top division with AS FAR Rabat, becoming the first South African footballer to sign with a Moroccan club. During his time with the club, Smith made only nine appearances, scoring one goal and helping the team win the COVID-19-postponed 2019–20 Moroccan Throne Cup.
Smith’s first stint in Finland saw him spend the 2020 and 2021 seasons across two teams. In 2020, he played for Finnish third-tier side Ekenäs IF, and in 2021, for FC Honka. Smith scored 31 goals and registered nine assists in 61 games across all competitions during the two seasons. He won the Ykkönen Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer awards in 2020 with EIF. Additionally, Smith featured in four matches in the UEFA Conference League with Honka.
The Cape Town, South Africa native spent the first six seasons bouncing around clubs in South Africa. During those six seasons, Smith played for AmaZulu FC, Vasco da Gama, Santos FC, SuperSport United, and Ubuntu Cape Town FC, making 41 appearances.
