Akim Matvejev (born 29 June 2006) is an Estonian professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a forward for the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

Background

Matvejev was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia. He moved with his family to England in 2012. He studied at Bruntcliffe Academy and

Leeds College of Building Leeds College of Building in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is the only further education college in the UK which specialises in the construction industry. It was established in 1960 and currently has about 6,500 students. It has two campuses ...

. Matvejev played junior rugby league for Drighlington ARLFC after he took up the sport aged 12. He joined the

development system at scholarship level.

Playing career

In April 2024, Matvejev signed a two-year contract with the

alongside nine academy teammates. He was first named in the 21-man squad to face

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

on 1 August and assigned squad number 39, although did not feature. On 13 September, Matvejev made his

debut for Castleford against St Helens as an interchange. In doing so, he became the first

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

to play in the Super League. He made his first senior start the following week against

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matvejev, Akim 2006 births Living people Castleford Tigers players Estonian rugby league players Rugby league props Sportspeople from Tallinn Estonian emigrants to England 21st-century Estonian sportsmen