Ebenezer Oluwafemi Ajilore (born 18 January 1985), also known as Femi, 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 ...

Club career

Ebenezer Oluwafemi Ajilore was born on 18 January 1985 in Oshu, Atakunmosa West, Nigeria. He progressed through FC Ebedei's youth academy before moving to cooperation club

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region (), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The refo ...

in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

in 2002, becoming the first player to do so. He made his debut for the club on the first matchday of the 2004–05 season, starting in a 2–1 away victory against

AaB AAB, AaB or Aab may refer to: Aviation * Abelag Aviation in Belgium * Air Assault Badge, a United States Army military badge * Anti-aircraft battery, a weapons system component for anti-aircraft warfare * IATA airport code for Arrabury Airport ...

. On 15 August, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away loss to Brøndby. After impressing with Midtjylland, Femi joined Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

club

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

in May 2008 on a five-year deal. The fee was undisclosed, but reported to be €3.3 million, the highest transfer fee ever paid by the club. As a result of the high transfer fee, Femi joined amid high expectations. However, he struggled to adapt to his new environment, experiencing significant difficulties on the field during his initial season. Despite these challenges, he briefly showed signs of improvement, but ultimately, his performances never matched the high hopes that accompanied his arrival, and he left the club as his contract expired in 2013. Before that, he went on a one-season loan to Danish club Brøndby in the 2011–12 season, where he also failed to impress. On 4 December 2013, Femi returned to Midtjylland. Earlier during the autumn, Midtjylland had attempted to re-sign Femi after his contract with Groningen expired, but visa regulations initially prevented his return to Denmark. However, he later joined Midtjylland for training and performed well enough to earn a contract until the summer of 2015. However, he struggled with form and injuries, making only two Superliga appearances before his contract was mutually terminated on 26 January 2015. On 10 August 2015, Femi joined

Danish 2nd Division The 2nd Division () is a professional association football league for men and the third division in Denmark. It is organised by the Divisionsforeningen on behalf of the Danish Football Association (Danish FA; DBU) as part of the nation-wide Da ...

side Middelfart G&BK for the 2015–16 season. In November 2015, after the club turned professional, Femi signed a contract with them. He left the club at the end of the season, in June 2016.

International career

He played with the Nigeria under-23 team in the

2008 Beijing The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

and won the silver medal. He made his full debut for the Super Eagles against Colombia on 19 November 2008.

Personal life

Femi also holds a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian passport. Following his career, Femi moved to

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Nigeria, where he settled with his wife and children. In 2019, he was studying for a coaching certificate and co-owned FEMAK Football Academy in

Ikeja Ikeja is the List of capitals of states of Nigeria, capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, cl ...

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 ...

, with childhood friends and former football player

Stephen Makinwa Stephen Ayodele Makinwa (born 26 July 1983) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Makinwa also played for the Nigeria national team. His name, Ayodele, means "''Joy has come home''". Club career Early career M ...

and

Ifeanyi Emeghara Ifeanyi Innocenti Emeghara (born 24 March 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was deployed equally on the left and the right flank. Club career Partizan After failing to find a club in Italy, Emegha ...

References

External links

*
Ajilore wants Euro Cup action – The Sun News Online
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajilore, Oluwafemi 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Osun State Men's association football midfielders Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Nigeria Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria F.C. Ebedei players FC Midtjylland players FC Groningen players Brøndby IF players Middelfart Boldklub players Danish Superliga players Eredivisie players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Yoruba sportspeople Nigerian people of Ghanaian descent 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen