Cliff Danquah Akurang (born 27 February 1981) is a 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 ...
who played in the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Barnet.
Early life
Akurang was born in
Accra.
Career
After prolific spells at
Heybridge Swifts and
Thurrock
Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...
, he joined
Dagenham & Redbridge
Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...
and then
Histon
Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road which runs east–west. In ...
. He found his form during at
Bridge Road, scoring several goals in the first half of the 2007–08 season including a hat-trick against
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. His performances attracted the attention of
Barnet, who signed him in January 2008. However, he struggled for form at
Underhill and, in March 2009, he joined
Weymouth on loan. In the summer of 2009, he joined
Rushden & Diamonds on a season long loan. Akurang was released by Barnet at the end of the 2009–10 season and rejoined Thurrock on a one-year contract, leaving on 1 November 2010. He moved on to Maidenhead in November 2010 and Braintree Town on his thirtieth birthday, 27 February 2011. On 12 September 2015, it was announced that Akurang had joined
Billericay Town but moved to local rivals
Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...
in February 2016. Akurang finished the 2017–18
Essex & Suffolk Border League season with
Coggeshall United, scoring four goals in 12 league appearances.
Managerial career
In December 2014, Akurang was appointed manager of
Heybridge Swifts, following the departure of previous manager Keith Hill. He left Heybridge Swifts being sacked on 8 September 2015. In the summer of 2017, Akurang became player-manager of newly founded
Coggeshall United. Later in the season he also became chairman.
He was appointed manager of
Coggeshall Town in May 2022, but left the club in October the same year.
Honours
Dagenham & Redbridge
*
Conference National
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
: 2006–07
References
External links
*
Barnet profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akurang, Cliff
1981 births
Living people
Footballers from Accra
Ghanaian footballers
English footballers
Association football forwards
Chelsea F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
Chesham United F.C. players
Hitchin Town F.C. players
Thurrock F.C. players
Heybridge Swifts F.C. players
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
Histon F.C. players
Barnet F.C. players
Weymouth F.C. players
Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players
Maidenhead United F.C. players
Braintree Town F.C. players
Chelmsford City F.C. players
Bishop's Stortford F.C. players
Boreham Wood F.C. players
Canvey Island F.C. players
Leiston F.C. players
Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players
Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players
Billericay Town F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Isthmian League players
Southern Football League players
English football managers
Heybridge Swifts F.C. managers
English football chairmen and investors
Coggeshall Town F.C. players
Coggeshall Town F.C. managers