Austin Hamlet (born 20 January 1979) 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

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 ...

. He spent the majority of his career in Poland.

Football

Hamlet started his career in Nigeria with Rangers International. In 1997, he moved to Poland after being convinced by a friend, and spent the rest of his playing career there. He joined

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, boxing, and in the past ice hockey, ...

playing a few games in their

1997–98 Ekstraklasa Statistics of the Ekstraklasa for the 1997–98 season. Overview 18 teams competed in the 1997–98 season. ŁKS Łódź won the championship. League table Results Top goalscorers References External links Poland – List of final table ...

winning season. In total over three years, Hamlet made 36 league appearances and scored 3 goals. While contracted with ŁKS, Hamlet went on loan to three clubs;

Piotrcovia Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrcovia Piotrków Trybunalski is a women's Poland, Polish team handball, handball team, based in Piotrków Trybunalski. Current squad :''Squad for the 2018–19 season'' ;Goalkeepers *1 Natalia Kolasińska * 16 Daria Opelt * 69 Karoli ...

, Polonia Gdańsk, and

Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk Lechia-Polonia Gdańsk was a team which played in the Polish second division from 1998 to 2001. The team was created by a merger of Lechia Gdańsk and Polonia Gdańsk. History Pre-merger Polonia Gdańsk Polonia Gdańsk were founded in 194 ...

. During the summer of 2000, Hamlet joined Stomil Olsztyn in which would be the start in a series of short spells at different clubs. He spent time with

Stal Stalowa Wola Stal Stalowa Wola Piłkarska Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Stal Stalowa Wola (), is a Polish professional football club based in Stalowa Wola, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. Founded in 1938, they will compete in the 2025–26 II lig ...

, returned to

, and played for

Chojniczanka Chojnice Chojniczanka Chojnice is a Polish football club located in Chojnice, Poland. As of the 2024–25 season, they compete in II liga. The team's colors are yellow, white and red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spect ...

before finishing off his career with

Pelikan Łowicz Pelikan Łowicz () is a Polish association football, football club based in Łowicz. As of the 2025–26 season, they play in the IV liga Łódź, the fifth tier, after suffering relegation from the 2024–25 III liga#Group I, 2024–25 III liga ...

after agreeing to leave the club in January 2004. In 2004 Hamlet had some issues related to his stay in the country. He left Poland and retired from football aged 24. After returning to Nigeria, Hamlet focused on training youth players club academies.

Honours

ŁKS Łódź *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

: 1997–98

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlet, Austin 1979 births Living people Footballers from Lagos Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Rangers International F.C. players ŁKS Łódź players SKS Stoczniowiec Gdańsk players Lechia Gdańsk players Stomil Olsztyn S.A. players Stal Stalowa Wola players Chojniczanka Chojnice players Pelikan Łowicz players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Poland