Bassey Abobo Akpan (born 6 January 1984 in Eket, Akwa Ibom State) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for NPFL club,

Kano Pillars Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Kano, North Western part of Nigeria. They play in the lower division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is Sani Abacha Stadium. Kano ...

Personal life

Akpan wears size or small 8 boot and loves jersey number 18.

Club career

Born in Eket, Nigeria, Akpan began his career with Delta Force Academy of Asaba. He was part of the team that placed third at the 1998 Nike Premier Cup in Paris, France. He later joined Bright Stars Football Academy In 1999. During the 1999 Nike Premier Cup Africa playoffs in lagos, Akpan put up an impressive performance for the Port-Harcourt-based Academy and was voted the best goalkeeper of the under-15 tournament. Akpan signed his first professional contract with southern Nigerian club, Bayelsa United in 2001, where he spent the entire 2001–02 season. He switched to Sunshine Stars, where he played for the rest of 2002–03 season, before teaming up with

Kwara United Kwara United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Ilorin. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional football League after promotion in 2017 from the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is t ...

for the 2003–04 season, following the relegation of the Akure-based club to second tier. He extended his contract with the ''Afonja Warriors'' for two seasons, before joining Bayelsa United for a second spell at the start of the 2006–07 season. After two seasons with Bayelsa United, Akpan secured a loan move to

Heartland FC Heartland Football Club founded as Spartans F.C., later known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale from 1985 to 2006 is a Nigerian football club based in Owerri. The team play their home games at Dan Anyiam Stadium (but currently use the new Okigwe Stadium ...

during the 2008–09 season where he helped the ''Naze Millionaires'' reach the final of the

2009 CAF Champions League The 2009 CAF Champions League is the 45th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 13th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner will particip ...

for the first time in their history. At the expiration of his season long loan at Heartland in August 2009, Akpan returned to his parent club Bayelsa United for the 2009–10 season, before they exited the

2009 CAF Confederation Cup The 2009 CAF Confederation Cup was the 6th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The competition began with the preliminary round stage in the f ...

at the semi finals. He rejoined

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

ahead of the 2010-11 season, after Bayelsa United relegated at the end of 2009-10 NPFL season. He ended the season winning the 2011 Nigerian FA Cup title. In October 2011, Akpan signed for

Vietnam first division V.League 2 or Vietnamese National Football First League, ( vi, Giải Bóng đá Hạng Nhất Quốc Gia Việt Nam), also called LS V.League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier professional association football league in Vietnam ...

club, Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC for the

2012 V-League The 2012 V-League season is the 56th season of Vietnam's professional football league and started on 31 December 2011 and finished on 19 August 2012. On 15 December it was announced that the league would change name and would simply be known as t ...

season. He ended his debut season with the ''Best Goalkeeper Award'', following his outstanding performance in 20 league games, which propelled Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC to a fifth-place finish on a 14-team table. Akpan extended his stay with Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC for two seasons until 17 August 2014. He returned home to join Bayelsa United for the 2014-15 NPFL season, playing three games for the

Yenagoa Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. It is located at the southern part of the country at coordinates . The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 352,285 at the 2006 census. Th ...

-based club, before moving to Abia Warriors on loan for the rest of the season. He joined his hometown club,

Akwa United Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home stadium. ...

during the 2015-16 NPFL season. Before the commencement of the regular season, Akpan won the 2016 Super Four and the

Nigeria Super Cup Nigeria Super Cup (also known as Charity Cup or Charity Shield) is a game that features the FA Cup and Nigerian Premier League winners. It usually commence before the start of a new season. Winners *1999:Lobi Stars *2000: Julius Berger F.C. *2001: ...

with the ''Promise Keepers''. He was part of the team during their maiden

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

campaign. He made 16 league appearances for the Uyo-based club including a vital goalless draw at Abia Warriors in a matchday 30 tie at Umuahia Township Stadium on 7 August 2016. Akpan signed for 2015-16 NPFL champions,

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team. They are based in Enugu and play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one of the three olde ...

during the midseason of the 2016-17 NPFL. Akpan joined

Sunshine Stars FC Sunshine Stars Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Akure. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigerian Premier League. Their home stadium is the Akure Township Stadium. Funding Sunshine Stars FC are funded an ...

for a second spell during the 2018-19 season and was unveiled alongside 23 others at the Ondo State Sports Complex on Saturday 19 January 2019. He did not feature for the ''Akure Gunners'' as they ended the 2018-19 abridged league season on the eighth position - one place above relegation zone.

International career

Akpan's exploits at the 1998 and 1999 Nike International Premier Cup in Paris and Barcelona, earned him an invitation to the Nigeria under-17 team for the 2001 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualifiers in 2000. On 3 March 2001, he inspired the

Golden Eaglets The Nigeria national U-17 football team known as the Golden Eaglets, is the youngest team that represents Nigeria in football The team is the most successful in international football for their age group winning a record, five FIFA U-17 World C ...

to its first continental title at the

2001 African U-17 Championship The 2001 African U-17 Championship was a football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament took place in Seychelles. The top three teams qualified for the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Guinea, who ...

in Seychelles with a 3–0 victory over Burkina Faso. At the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Trinidad & Tobago, Akpan was voted Best Goalkeeper of the tournament due to his heroics in goal, despite the Golden Eaglets losing 3–0 to France in the finals to settle for a silver medal. In 2002, he was involved with the Flying Eagles team that failed to qualify for the Burkina Faso 2003 CAF U-20 Championship. From June 2003 to March 2004, Akpan was a member of the Nigeria U-23 team and took part in the CAF qualifiers as the team failed to secure a ticket for the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics Men's football event In 2008, Bassey was in goal for the Home-based Super Eagles during the Ivory Coast 2009 African Nations Championship WAFU Zone B qualifiers, helping coach Okey Emordi led team to beat Burkina Faso 4–1 on aggregate in the first round, before losing 3–2 on aggregate to Ghana in the final qualifying round. He made his senior debut for the

Super Eagles The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, t ...

on 3 March 2010, as an 80th minute substitute for Shooting Stars goalkeeper, Segun Oluwaniyi in the 5–2 win over Congo DR in Abuja. Bassey manned the post for the coach Samson Siasia tutored Home-based Super Eagles during the second leg goalless draw with Niger in the Sudan 2011 African Nations Championship WAFU Zone B qualifier on 28 March 2010. He kept four matches for coach

Daniel Amokachi Daniel Owefin Amokachi (born 30 December 1972) is a Nigerian football manager and former professional footballer and a member of the dubious goals panel for the Premier League. As a player he was a forward who notably played in the Premier Lea ...

led homebased Super Eagles, as they went all the way to beat the Teranga Lions of Senegal 2–0 to claim the maiden edition of the

2010 WAFU Nations Cup The 2010 WAFU Nations Cup was the first edition of the WAFU Nations Cup, an association football tournament organised by the West African Football Union. The tournament was also held in 2002, but that edition was cancelled due to the civil war in ...

at the MKO Abiola Stadium Abeokuta on Sunday, 18 April 2010. In May 2010, Akpan alongside Terna Suswam was the only home-based players named in Super Eagles' preparatory squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup by Coach Lars Lagerback, but did not make the final squad. He was a used substitute during the Super Eagles' 0–0 draw with Saudi Arabia in a pre-World Cup friendly in Austria on 25 May 2010. He also served as back up to goalkeeper

Dele Aiyenugba Bamidele Mathew Aiyenugba (born 20 November 1983 in Jos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian footballer with Kwara United F.C. His name, Bamidele, means "Follow me home" in Yoruba language. After 13 seasons in Israel with four teams, Aiyenugba returned t ...

in the Super Eagles 2–1 loss to South Korea in an international friendly at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, on 11 August 2010.

Honours

International

Nigeria U-17 * FIFA U-17 World Cup winner:

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

* CAF U-17 Championship winner:

Nigeria *

WAFU Nations Cup The WAFU Nations Cup (also known as the WAFU Cup of Nations or simply the WAFU Cup) is an association football competition that is contested by representative teams of the West African Football Union. History A trophy was commissioned by President ...

winner:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Club

National

Bayelsa United *

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

winner: 2008-09 * Third place: 2007-08 Heartland FC * Nigerian FA Cup winner:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Akwa United *

winner:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

* Nigeria Super Four winner:

International

Heartland FC *

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

runners up:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Bayelsa United *

semifinalist:

Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC * V.League 1 third place:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Individual

2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2001, the ninth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Port of Spain, Malabar in Arima, Marabella in San Fernando, Couva, and Bacolet in Scarborough at Trinidad and Tobago between 13 and 30 September ...

Golden Glove winner *

Best Goalkeeper

External links

Career Statistics l– Bassey Akpan
at NFT Website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akpan, Bassey 1984 births Association football goalkeepers Heartland F.C. players Kwara United F.C. players Living people Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam Sunshine Stars F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Vietnam People from Akwa Ibom State Nigeria international footballers Nigeria Professional Football League players Akwa United F.C. players Bayelsa United F.C. players Shooting Stars S.C. players Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC players V.League 1 players Sportspeople from Akwa Ibom State Abia Warriors F.C. players