Prince Ikpe Ekong
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 October 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Märsta IK | ||
| 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– | Märsta IK | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 2001–2004 | Nigeria | 9 | (0) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 December 2012. | |||
Prince Ikpe Ekong (born 5 October 1978) is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Märsta IK 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 Märsta IK in the fifth tier of the Swedish Football League system. [5]
References
- ↑ Stats from Slovenia at PrvaLiga
- ↑ Olof Peronius. "Världens lirare" (in Swedish). Expressen.se. 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.
- ↑ http://www.unt.se/sigtunabygden/sport/sasongspremiar-med-nya-krafter-4189036.aspx
External links
- Prince Ikpe Ekong at National-Football-Teams.com
- World Soccer profile
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