Abdoulaye Demba (also Abdoulai Demba; born 2 November 1976) is a Malian 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 ...

Club career

On 1 July 2002, Demba signed for English club

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

on a one-year contract with the option for a second, after being top scorer 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 ...

in the Belgian third division (9 goals in 15 games). He had briefly been on trial at Yeovil in the previous season. He made his debut for the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

club on 17 August 2002 in a 2–2 draw with Gravesend & Northfleet at

Huish Park Huish Park is a Association football, football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish Athletic Ground, Huish. Huish Park has ...

. He came on as a 16th-minute substitute for Adam Stansfield, who had suffered a serious injury. With Stansfield ruled out long-term, Demba made his first start three days later in a 2–1 defeat at

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

, playing 70 minutes before being replaced by Chris Giles. On 14 September, he scored his first goal for the club to rescue a 2–2 draw away at

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

, having been brought on at half time in place of

Anthony Tonkin Anthony Richard Tonkin (born 17 January 1980) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Born in Penzance, Cornwall, Tonkin began his career at Mousehole and Falmouth Town, where he finished as runners-up to ...

by manager

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

and heading in a cross by Lee Johnson. A week later in a 3–0 home win over

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replaced Halifax Town, who went i ...

, he was brought down for a penalty by opposing goalkeeper Lee Butler, resulting in a red card, but was himself sent off for foul and abusive language, and his teammate

Terry Skiverton Terence John Skiverton (born 26 June 1975) is an English former footballer who enjoyed a long playing career at Yeovil Town for 11 years that led him to appear 382 times in all competitions. He then became their manager and subsequently, assist ...

also dismissed. He scored five further goals in the season, all in the next three games: one in a 4–0 win over

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

three days later, a first-half hat-trick in a 6–0 win against

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

on 5 October, and the opener in a 1–1 draw at

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

three days after that. He was Football Conference ''Goalscorer of the Month'' in October 2002. Yeovil won the Conference, earning promotion to

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for the first time.

International career

Demba represented

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

at the

2004 Africa Cup of Nations The 2004 African Cup of Nations was held from January 24, 24 January to February 14, 14 February 2004 in Tunisia. It was the 24th edition of the biennial international men's football championship of Africa, organized by the Confederation of Afri ...

in Tunisia. His first appearance came in their second group game on 30 January, a 3–1 win over

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, replacing Soumaila Coulibaly in added time. Three days later he started in place of Coulibaly, in a 1–1 draw with

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. Mali eventually came fourth.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demba, Abdoulaye 1976 births Living people Malian men's footballers Malian expatriate men's footballers Mali men's international footballers 2004 African Cup of Nations players K. Beerschot V.A.C. players K.V. Oostende players Yeovil Town F.C. players S.C. Eendracht Aalst players Ethnikos Asteras F.C. players Challenger Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Morocco National League (English football) players Belgian people of Malian descent Belgian men's footballers Footballers from Antwerp IR Tanger players Men's association football forwards