Prince Ikpe Ekong (born 5 October 1978) is a Nigerian 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is best remembered for representing Reggiana,

Shenyang Ginde Guangzhou City Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club which last competed in the Chinese Super League. The team was based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 was Guangzhou R&F, which was short for ' ...

Xiamen Lanshi Xiamen Blue Lions Football Club () is a defunct Chinese football club, which was located in Xiamen, Fujian. It was founded in the 1996 league season and their nickname was the "Blue Lions" while they played in the Xiamen Sports Centre Stadium. Th ...

GAIS Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

, and

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

during his career. A full international between 2001 and 2004, he won nine

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Nigeria national team.

Career

After the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

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 Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...

Reggiana

Due to Italian rules regarding non-EU players, he could not play for the first team in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

, he ended up going on a loan to

FC Koper Football Club Koper, commonly referred to as FC Koper or simply Koper, is a Slovenian football club based in Koper that competes in the Slovenian First League, the top flight of Slovenian football. The club was founded in 1920. They won the Sl ...

from Slovenia, when he returned to Italy he was loaned out again to

Tecos UAG Tecos Fútbol Club, simply known as Tecos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco, and associated with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (UAG). It competes in Liga Premier de México, Liga ...

of Mexico, then

AC Bellinzona AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Sw ...

from Switzerland and

FCM UTA Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad (), commonly known as UTA Arad or simply UTA (''Uzina Textilă Arad''; ), is a Romanian professional Association football, football football team, club based in the city of Arad, Romania, Arad, Arad County that comp ...

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 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

where no non-EU players were allowed, and this led to Ikpe Ekong filing a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against the Italian FA, which he won, allowing him to play in the Italian league Serie.

Allsvenskan

In 2003, he moved to China and

Changsha Ginde Guangzhou City Football Club () was a Chinese professional football club which last competed in the Chinese Super League. The team was based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. The club's name between 2011 and 2020 was Guangzhou R&F, which was short for ' ...

and later

. In 2006 four clubs were interested in signing him because of his midfield talent in a defending and playmaker, French club

CS Sedan Club Sportif Sedan Ardennes, commonly referred to as CS Sedan or simply Sedan (), is a football club based in Sedan, France. The club was formed in 1919 and plays its home matches at the Stade Louis Dugauguez located within the city. Despite ...

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

from Israel, Gençlerbirliğ from Turkey and

from Sweden. He chose GAIS after he visited the club and then visited a local church where he heard God tell him to settled in Sweden. In 2008, he left GAIS to sign for

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

rivals Djurgårdens IF, one of the biggest team In Sweden, a rich team. He was bought out of his contract with Djurgården in November 2011 after losing interest as a full-time professional player, he was studying in sports management and phycologist . In 2016, Prince played for Märsta IK in the fifth tier of the Swedish Football League for fun and to keep fitness, he also help to start up a div 7 team, Afrikans FC Stockholm, he scored so many goals, took the team from div 7, to div 4. system.

Personal life

Ekong is the father of professional footballer Emmanuel Ekong.

Honours

Xiamen Lanshi *

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

: 2005

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekong, Prince Ikpe Living people 1978 births Footballers from Lagos Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Bridge F.C. players FC Koper players Expatriate men's footballers in Slovenia Tecos F.C. footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico AC Bellinzona players Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland FC UTA Arad players Liga I players Expatriate men's footballers in Romania AC Reggiana 1919 players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Guangzhou City F.C. players Xiamen Blue Lions F.C. players Chinese Super League players China League One players Expatriate men's footballers in China GAIS players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players Allsvenskan players Expatriate men's 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