Prince Ikpe Ekong
| |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 5 October 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Number | 14 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1995 | Julius Berger | ||
1995–2003 | Reggiana | 63 | (1) |
1995–1996 | → Koper (loan) | 16 | (0) |
1996–1998 | → Tecos UAG (loan) | ||
1998–1999 | → AC Bellinzona (loan) | ||
1999–2000 | → UTA Arad (loan) | ||
2003–2004 | Shenyang Ginde | 43 | (1) |
2005 | Xiamen Lanshi | 21 | (5) |
2006–2008 | GAIS | 46 | (1) |
2008–2011 | Djurgårdens IF | 53 | (3) |
2012–2013 | Väsby United | 23 | (1) |
2016– | |||
National team‡ | |||
2001–2004 | Nigeria | 9 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 December 2012 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 April 2011 |
Prince Ikpe Ekong (born 5 October 1978) is a Nigerian former footballer who last played for Swedish club as a midfielder.
Career[]
After the 1994 World Cup a series of Nigerian players was brought to the European top leagues, and Ikpe Ekong was signed by Italian club Reggiana, then coached by Carlo Ancelotti.
Reggiana[]
Due to Italian rules regarding non-EU players, he could not play for the first team in Serie A, he ended up going on a loan to FC Koper from Slovenia,[1] when he returned to Italy he was loaned out again to Tecos UAG of Mexico, then AC Bellinzona from Switzerland and FCM UTA from Romania. It would not be until 2000 when Prince Ikpe Ekong returned to Italy to play for A.C. Reggiana. However Reggiana had fallen to Serie C2 where no non-EU players were allowed, and this led to Ikpe Ekong filing a lawsuit against the Italian FA, which he won, allowing him to play in Serie C2.
Allsvenskan[]
In 2003, he moved to China and Changsha Ginde and later Xiamen Lanshi. In 2006 four clubs where interested in signing him, French club CS Sedan, Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel, Gençlerbirliğ from Turkey and GAIS from Sweden. He chose GAIS after he visited the club and then visited a local church where he heard God tell him to sign for GAIS. In 2008, he left GAIS to sign for Allsvenskan rivals Djurgårdens IF.[2][3] He was bought out of his contract with Djurgården in November 2011 after having played none of the games in the 2011 season.[4] Since 2016 Prince plays for in the fifth tier of the Swedish Football League system.[5]
Honours[]
Xiamen Lanshi
- China League One: 2005[6]
References[]
- ^ Stats from Slovenia at PrvaLiga
- ^ Olof Peronius. "Världens lirare" (in Swedish). Expressen.se. Archived from the original on 15 July 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2008.
- ^ Mattias Balkander. "Fyra kontinenter – en Prince" (in Swedish). GP.se. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2007.
- ^ Holmberg, Ludvig; Kristoffersson, Daniel (8 November 2011). "Prince lämnar Dif – vill stanna i Sverige". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 9 November 2011.
- ^ "Säsongspremiär med nya krafter". 12 April 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "厦门主场完胜夺得中甲冠军--05中甲最终积分榜". sports.sohu.com. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
External links[]
- Prince Ikpe Ekong at National-Football-Teams.com
- World Soccer profile
- Living people
- 1978 births
- Sportspeople from Lagos
- Nigerian footballers
- Nigeria international footballers
- Nigerian expatriate footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Bridge F.C. players
- FC Koper players
- Expatriate footballers in Slovenia
- Tecos F.C. footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Mexico
- AC Bellinzona players
- Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
- FC UTA Arad players
- Liga I players
- Expatriate footballers in Romania
- A.C. Reggiana 1919 players
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Changsha Ginde players
- Xiamen Blue Lions players
- Chinese Super League players
- China League One players
- Expatriate footballers in China
- GAIS players
- Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players
- Allsvenskan players
- Expatriate footballers in Sweden
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in China
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- 2004 African Cup of Nations players
- Slovenian PrvaLiga players