Abdillahie Abdalla Yussuf (born 20 February 1992) is a

Tanzanian Demographic features of the population of Tanzania include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The population distribution in Tan ...

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 plays as a striker for

Redditch United Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the and play their home games at the Valley Stadium. They are managed by Matt Clarke. History They were originally called Re ...

on loan from Halesowen Town. He has previously played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Burton Albion, Lincoln City,

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. He has also played for a number of non-league clubs such as Tamworth,

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

, Harrogate Town,

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...

, Oxford City, Barrow,

Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...

, Boreham Wood,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

, Chesterfield and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, with a spell in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

with St Joseph's. He has been capped four times by

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

since making his international debut in 2019.

Club career

Leicester City

Born in

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

, Yussuf began his career with

for its youth and reserve teams. He failed to make an appearance for the club, and on 21 May 2011, with the impending expiry of his contract, Yussuf was released by Leicester City. On 1 January 2011, Yussuf signed for

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

side Tamworth on a one-month loan deal. Yussuf made his Tamworth debut on 1 January 2011, coming on as a 45th-minute substitute for Scott Barrow in a Conference National fixture away to Kettering Town, and it turned out to be a winning start to his career with the club as Tamworth went on to win the game 1–0, thanks to an own-goal from Paul Furlong.

Burton Albion

Following a successful trial period with Burton Albion during the pre-season of 2011–12, the club signed Yussuf on a one-year deal on 2 August 2011. Yussuf's first goal for Burton came in the 6–3 away victory against Barnet on 29 October 2011. Having found first-team opportunities hard to come by, Yussuf had to wait until 11 August 2012 to score his second Albion goal, the opener in a 2–2 draw against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

in the League Cup, Albion eventually going on to win on penalties.

Lincoln City

On 23 May 2013, Yussuf signed for

side Lincoln on a one-year deal. After making only two appearances for ''the Imps'', Yussuf found more success out on loan, with spells at

, Harrogate Town and

throughout the season, scoring a total of three goals in 10 games throughout the season.

Oxford City

On 1 August 2014, Yussuf joined Oxford City, signing a one-year deal with the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

club. On 9 August 2014, Yussuf made his Oxford City debut in a 1–0 away victory against Hyde United, playing the full 90 minutes. Yussuf scored twice in Oxford City's 3–2 victory over

, netting his first goals for the club in the fifth and 27th minute. On 15 November 2014, Yussuf registered his 10th league goal of the campaign, in a 2–1 home victory over

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

. On 7 February 2015, Yussuf scored his first hat-trick for Oxford City, in a 5–0 victory at Brackley Town.

Mansfield Town

On 5 June 2015, Yussuf signed for

on a free transfer from Oxford City. On 8 August 2015, Yussuf made his Mansfield Town debut in a 1–1 draw with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

, replacing Nathan Thomas in the 74th minute. On 3 October 2015, Yussuf scored his first Mansfield Town goal in a 4–3 away victory over Dagenham & Redbridge, scoring the winner in the 85th minute. On 11 March 2016, Yussuf received a five-game ban and a £700 fine from the FA for urinating at the back of the stand while warming-up as an unused substitute during the League Two fixture against Plymouth Argyle. Yussuf joined

on a six-month loan on 2 August 2016. Four days later, Yussuf made his Crawley Town debut in a 1–0 victory over

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

, replacing Enzio Boldewijn in the 95th minute. On 24 September 2016, Yussuf scored his first goal for Crawley in a 3–2 away victory over

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, opening the scoring in the 72nd minute. On 26 December 2016, Crawley manager Dermot Drummy confirmed that Yussuf's loan deal had been terminated.

Grimsby Town

Yussuf joined League Two side

on 1 January 2017, agreeing an 18-month contract on a free transfer. Two days later, he scored on his debut to seal a 3–1 victory for Grimsby and end

's unbeaten home record. Away at Hartlepool United in his second match, Yussuf opened the scoring to make it two goals in his first two appearances for the "Mariners".

Barrow

On 29 July 2017, Yussuf joined

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Barrow on a one-year deal.

Solihull Moors

On 25 January 2018, following his release from Barrow, Yussuf joined fellow National League club

on a one-and-a-half-year deal. He scored a brace in two minutes on his debut against Dagenham & Redbridge before he was substituted in the 69th minute. He scored four goals in their FA Cup run to the second round.

Blackpool

In May 2019, following the expiry of his Solihull Moors' contract, he signed for

on a two-year deal, with an option for a third year. He was released by the club at the end of the 2020–21 season, after the club had won promotion to the Championship. On 17 September 2019, Yussuf returned to Solihull on loan until January 2020. On 28 August 2020, Yussuf signed for

on a season long loan. He made his debut on 3 October in a 2–1 opening day victory over Boreham Wood. Two weeks later he opened his account for the club with a double in an eventual 4–3 defeat to

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

. On 30 January 2021, he marked what proved to be his final match for the club with the second goal in a 2–0 victory over King's Lynn Town. On 1 February 2021, the loan was terminated and Yussuf returned to

. On 2 February 2021, Yussuf joined

side Chesterfield on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.

Yeovil Town

On 17 August 2021, Yussuf joined

side Yeovil Town following his release from Blackpool. At the end of the 2021–22 season, Yussuf was released by Yeovil following the expiry of his contract.

St Joseph's

On 4 July 2022, it was revealed that Yussuf had moved to

to join St Joseph's, with the striker being announced as part of their Europa Conference League squad to face

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

Gateshead

On 2 September 2022, Yussuf returned to England to join National League club

Brackley Town

On 9 December 2022, Yussuf joined

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

side

following his release from Gateshead.

Halesowen Town

Ahead of the 2024–25 season, Yussuf joined Halesowen Town. In January 2025, he joined

on a one-month loan deal.

International career

Yussuf was called up to the

squad in August 2015. He again linked up with the Tanzanian national squad in March 2016; however, he was unable play in any matches due to a suspension. In May 2019, Yussuf was included in Tanzania's preliminary 39-man squad for the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

. Yussuf made his international debut on 16 June 2019 in a friendly match against

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt. He also most recently played for the Tanzania national team in a friendly vs Central African Republic.

Coaching career

In 2024, Yussuf returned to former club Leicester City as part of the Premier League's Professional Player to Coach Scheme, helping increase the number of Black, Asian and minority ethnic players who transition into coaching.

Career statistics

International

Honours

Individual *

Team of the Year: 2014–15 *

Top Goalscorer: 2018–19

Adi Yussuf Foundation

Adi created the Adi Yussuf Foundation in 2017 after a visit to

island in

and saw the poverty and orphaned children on the streets. Since then he has been collecting donations and sending them to help the children. The latest project for the Adi Yussuf Foundation is to raise money to build an orphanage in Tanga, Tanzania.

References

External links

Adi Yussuf - Player Profile
at Yeovil Town F.C. Official Site * * *
Adi Yussuf Foundation Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yussuf, Adi 1992 births Living people Tanzanian men's footballers Zanzibari men's footballers Men's association football forwards Leicester City F.C. players Tamworth F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Solihull Moors F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Boreham Wood F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players St Joseph's F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Brackley Town F.C. players Banbury United F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Redditch United F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Southern Football League players Tanzania men's international footballers 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Tanzanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Gibraltar Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar Tanzanian expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century Tanzanian sportsmen Leicester City F.C. non-playing staff