Alemayo Kebede Ayele (born 10 April 1987) is an Eritrean footballer who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Adelaide Blue Eagles The Azzurri Sports Club is home to the Adelaide Blue Eagles (ABE), a soccer club based at the Marden Sports Complex, South Australia. It has formerly been known as Napoli Sports Club, Eastern Districts, Eastern Districts Napoli Sports Club, and ...

in the

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state- ...

Club career

In 2011, he signed with

FFSA Super League The FFSA Super League was the highest state-level soccer competition in South Australia between 2006 and 2012. Prior to the 2006 season, the highest level competition in South Australia was the SASF Premier League. Due to the manifestation of a n ...

club

Croydon Kings Croydon FC, formerly known as Croydon Kings, is an Australian semi-professional soccer club in Adelaide, South Australia. Croydon FC currently competes in the National Premier Leagues South Australia. They play home games at Polonia Reserve at C ...

after being granted political asylum by the Australian government. Following the 2012 Super League season it was announced he had won the Sergio Melta Medal which is awarded to the best player in the league.

International career

Kebede played in the

2009 CECAFA Cup The 2009 Orange CECAFA Senior Challenge tournament was the 33rd edition of the CECAFA Cup football tournament that involves teams from East and Central Africa. The 2009 edition was hosted in Kenya. Participants * * * * * * * * * * *Invited as gu ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, appearing in at least one 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 ...

Personal life

Whilst competing in the

he was part of the

Eritrea national football team The Eritrea national football team represents Eritrea in men's international association football, football and it is controlled by the Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF). It is nicknamed the ''Red Sea Boys''. It has never qualified ...

which failed to return home after competing in the regional tournament in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. After receiving political asylum from the Australian government, the team moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Honors

* 2012 Sergio Melta Medal (

Player of the Year)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kebede, Alemayo 1987 births Living people Eritrean men's footballers Eritrea men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Red Sea FC players Croydon FC (Australia) players Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC players Western Strikers SC players Adelaide Blue Eagles players Adelaide Olympic FC players FFSA Super League players National Premier Leagues players Eritrean expatriate men's footballers Eritrean expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Eritrean refugees Sportspeople from Asmara Eritrean Premier League players