Chibuzor "Chib" Chilaka (born 21 October 1986) is a Nigerian

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 plays 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 ...

for

Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was esta ...

in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Career

Chilaka began his football career at

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town F.C., Ket ...

in 2002, spending two years at the club's academy. In 2004, Chilaka joined

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

after Notts County youth team coach Neville Hamilton had previously worked with the player at Rushden. He impressed during his year in the club's youth system, and subsequently signed a one-year professional contract on 4 July 2005. He made one first-team appearance for the club in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

5–2 defeat at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in October 2005. In December 2005, Chilaka joined Hinckley United on a three-month loan spell, playing two games for the club before Notts County recalled him on 10 January 2006. Chilaka was released by Notts County in May 2006. He studied at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, captaining and managing the team due to their ex-manager leaving. He also played for England Universities. Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Chilaka had a successful trial with

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

but decided to finish his university course studying Human Biology. He played for

Bridlington Town Bridlington Town Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were founded in 1918 and currently play in the . History The club was founded in 1918 as Bridlington Centr ...

during the 2008–09 season, scoring a total of 38 goals for Bridlington in all competitions, 25 of which came in the league. During the following season, he played for

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LM ...

, where he scored 20 league goals in 29 appearances. He also won the club's Player of the Season award at the end of the 2009–10 campaign. Ahead of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Chilaka went on trial at

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

side

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...

, scoring twice in a friendly against

Farsley Farsley is a village in the City of Leeds, Leeds district, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Leeds city centre and east of Bradford near Pudsey. Before 1974, Farsley was part of the Municipal Borough of Pudsey, Borough of Pudsey. Before 193 ...

. Guiseley manager Steve Kittrick was keen to sign Chilaka, but the player joined

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

on trial instead.

Bradford City

After a successful trial period, he was signed by

on non-contract terms. Chilaka made his debut for Bradford in the club's 2–1 League Cup defeat against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in the match. He made his league debut for the club against

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

on 2 October 2010, again coming off the substitute's bench. After three appearances in league and cup matches, he was loaned to Bradford Park Avenue in November 2010 to gain match fitness. Chilaka scored on his debut for Bradford Park Avenue in the side's 3–1 win against Eccleshill United in the West Riding County Cup. However, Chilaka was ineligible to play in the match and Eccleshill were subsequently reinstated into the competition at Avenue's expense. He played his first league game on 11 December 2010, scoring the winning goal in the 93rd minute in the club's 3–2 away victory at

Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of West Lancashire, Lancashire, England. The town is located approximately north-northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. Its north ...

, a game in which Avenue came from two goals down to win. Chilaka's loan spell at the club was disrupted by the snow throughout November and December 2010, resulting in a spate of postponements. This meant that he played just one league game for Bradford Park Avenue during his loan spell, scoring one goal. In February 2011, Chilaka went out on loan again, this time to

side Harrogate Town, making his debut in the club's 3–1 away win at

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

. He scored a hat-trick in his final game before his loan spell ended as Harrogate ran out 3–0 winners against Gloucester City on 26 March. Chilaka played eight games for Harrogate, scoring three times. On his return to Bradford, he appeared as a second-half substitute in the club's 2–1 away loss to

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

. He was released by Bradford City on 10 May 2011, and signed for Braintree Town in August.

Harrogate Town

On 2 February 2012, Chilaka signed for Harrogate Town. In 2013, Harrogate released Chilaka.

Bradford Park Avenue

Chilaka joined Bradford Park Avenue as a free agent on 5 July 2013.

Personal life

His younger brother, Nduoma, is also a footballer, who has played for a number of

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs as well US University soccer team Regis Rangers (

Regis University Regis University ( ) is a Private university, private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1877 by the Jesuits, Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees th ...

).Nduoma Chilaka – Regis Rangers

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilaka, Chibuzor Living people 1986 births Nigerian men's footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Notts County F.C. players Hinckley United F.C. players Bridlington Town A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players English Football League players Alumni of the University of Hull Men's association football midfielders Shaw Lane A.F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Matlock Town F.C. players Northern Premier League players 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England