Joseph Eneojo Akpala (born 24 August 1986) is a Nigerian football manager and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Since 2022, Akpala has been assistant coach at

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

, taking over as caretaker coach for one match in September 2023, in between the dismissal of

Edward Still Edward Still (born 30 December 1990) is a association football, football manager (association football), manager and assistant manager of Ligue 1 club RC Lens, Lens. He has managed Royal Charleroi S.C., Charleroi, K.A.S. Eupen, Eupen and K.V. Ko ...

and the appointment of

Glen De Boeck Glen De Boeck (; born 22 August 1971) is a Belgian football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Kortrijk in the Belgian Pro League after previously managing Cercle Brugge and Waasland-Beveren in the top flight, and Loker ...

, and taking the reins again following De Boeck's sacking in November 2023.

Club career

Akpala is a product of the Pepsi Football Academy in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. His first professional contract came in April 2003 with Bendel United Football Club, a Division One club in

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

. He later joined Bendel Insurance FC, Benin City in the Premier Division of the Nigerian Professional League, in February 2005. He was to finish as joint top scorer with 13 goals in 19 games. Subsequently, Akpala was signed by the

Royal Charleroi S.C. Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League. Their current ...

of Belgian

Jupiler Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023� ...

in January 2006. He wore the number 27 jersey. He had a very successful campaign in 2007–08 as he topped the scorers chart with 18 goals. On 18 July 2008, Akpala joined

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

signing a contract until 2013. On 22 August 2012,

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

signed Akpala after facing competition from West Ham United and Celtic. On 19 August 2013, Akpala began a week-long trial with English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. On 3 September 2013, Akpala signed for Turkish Karabükspor on a season loan. In 2014 the deal was made permanent and he left Bremen for good. However, only after another year, in July 2015, he returned to Belgium, signing for

K.V. Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, was a Belgian professional association football, football club based in Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and had Football in Belgium#Matr ...

on a three-year contract. In April 2021, he joined

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n club

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

, signing a contract until the end of the 2020-21 season.

International career

Akpala made his debut for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 6 September 2008. In June 2009, he scored his first goal for Nigeria in a 1–0 away win 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 ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Score and result list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Akpala goal''.

Honours

KV Oostende *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: runner-up 2016–17 Individual *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

top scorer: 2007–08 (16 goals)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akpala, Joseph 1986 births Living people Footballers from Jos Men's association football forwards Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players Pepsi Football Academy players Nigeria Professional Football League players Belgian Pro League players Bundesliga players Süper Lig players Saudi Pro League players Liga I players Bendel United F.C. players Bendel Insurance F.C. players Royal Charleroi S.C. players Club Brugge KV players SV Werder Bremen players Kardemir Karabükspor footballers K.V. Oostende players Al Faisaly FC players FC Dinamo București players K.V. Kortrijk managers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Romania 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen