Ade Adebisi (born 1 July 1986), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"London Flyer", is a British

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He played at representative level for (BARLA) Young Lions against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and was selected for the 2011 Championship 1 All Stars team. At club level he played for the

London Skolars The London Skolars are a rugby league club based at the White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre, New River Stadium in Wood Green, London Borough of Haringey, Haringey, North London. Founded in 1995, the club operated as a semi-professional team ...

(two spells), in 2004 for the

London Broncos The London Broncos are a professional rugby league club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, England. They play their home games at Plough Lane and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby le ...

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the ...

(

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

, Academy), Doncaster Lakers,

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

and

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

National League One National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

( reserve grade), as a or . Adebisi suffers from the genetic blood disorder

sickle-cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying ...

and is the only known rugby player ever to play professionally with the condition. He is an ambassador for the Sickle Cell Society and the founder of the Ade Adebisi Sickle Cell Foundation. Adebisi also leads the Nigeria rugby league revolution as general manager/vice chairman. The former professional spent two years between 2017 and 2019 working to get the African nation involved with the 13-a-side code for no money. Under his leadership, Nigeria was chosen to host the Middle East Africa

championship in October 2019.

Playing career

London Broncos

In 2002, Adebisi, a promising schoolboy athlete and footballer joined the

development programme before signing up for their junior academy team the following season. In 2004, as well as representing the BARLA Young Lions against

, he also made his debut for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. Limited opportunities at senior level led to a spell on loan to

where he played in their successful 2005 academy side.

Doncaster Lakers & Featherstone

His association with the London club ended in 2007, when he signed initially for

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

before moving to

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

for the last 11 games of the season. His first year at the Recre was a great success and he finished the season as the club's top try scorer. Together with teammate Craig Calvert, Haven had two of the most potent wingmen in the Championship.

Whitehaven RLFC

In 2008, he joined

Whitehaven R.L.F.C. Whitehaven 2010 R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club, from Whitehaven, Cumbria. They currently play in the 2025 RFL League One, RFL League One following relegation from the 2024 RFL Championship, Championship in 2024. They currently pla ...

from the 2007

National League Two The Rugby Football League's League One (known as the Betfred League One) is the third-highest division of rugby league in Britain. It is also the lowest level of professional rugby league in Britain. Introduced in 2003 as National League 2 it ...

winning side,

. While at Whitehaven R.L.F.C., he was their top try scorer in 2008, with 22 tries in 30 games.

London Skolars

In 2010, Adebisi returned to London Skolars, following his release by Whitehaven, scoring 51 tries in 66 games through to 2013.

Retirement

In 2014, following a struggle with injuries and

sickle cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...

, Adebisi retired from playing professional

Personal life

On 30 June 2018 Adebisi married his long time partner, Nigerian chef Jennifer Adebisi. Together they have a son, Myles Kobimra Ade Adebisi (born 23 June 2019).

References

External links

*
Ade Adebisi
at youtube.com
Ade Adebisi
at facebook.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Adebisi, Ade 1986 births Living people Doncaster R.L.F.C. players English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players London Broncos players London Skolars players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players