Edward Abdullai Mobalaji Olatunji Afo Oshodi (born 14 January 1992) is an English semi-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 defender. He began his career at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and spent time on loan at

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

and

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 ...

before moving to

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

in 2011. In 2015, Oshodi announced his retirement from the game at the age of 23, but returned to playing at semi-professional level shortly thereafter, signing for Hemel Hempstead Town and then St Albans City. He represented England U16, U17 and C at international level.

Club career

Watford

Oshodi started his career with

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. His first involvement with the first team came when he was named on the bench for a 1–0 League Cup third round win over

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 23 September 2008. He made his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut for Watford during the 2009–10 season on 29 September in a 3–2

home defeat against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

, replacing the injured Lee Hodson as a substitute in the 78th minute. He was still an academy scholar at the time. On 25 November 2010, Oshodi signed on loan for League One side

until January 2011. He joined

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

side

on a three-month loan on 24 January 2011. He scored his first senior career goal on 22 February 2011, in a 2–0 Conference win against Eastbourne Borough. He made 12 appearances during his time with the club.

Forest Green Rovers

On 7 October 2011, Oshodi signed for Conference side

, who were managed by his former youth team coach at Watford,

Dave Hockaday David Hockaday (born 9 November 1957) is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kiddermi ...

, on a two-year deal. He made his Forest Green debut the next day in a 0–0 away draw against

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

. In August 2012, Oshodi was named Forest Green captain at the age of 20 for the beginning of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal for the club on 4 September 2012 in a home win against

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

. In January 2013 he agreed a new two-and-a-half-year extension to his contract. In January 2014, he spent a week training with League One side Brentford, having played under manager

Mark Warburton Mark Warburton (born 6 September 1962) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is currently the Sporting Director and Head of Soccer for Sporting Club Jacksonville ...

in the academy at Watford. Oshodi made his hundredth league appearance for Forest Green on 8 April 2014 in a 1–1 draw with

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. His first appearance of the 2014–15 season saw him come on as a substitute on 86 minutes in a 2–0 win over

FC Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League (division), National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replac ...

on 13 September 2014. On 29 November 2014, he scored the opening goal, as well as an own goal, in a 2–1 win over

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. On 2 February 2015, Oshodi revealed that he was stepping away from football to focus on his charity work and that he had come to a mutual agreement to leave Forest Green.

Semi-professional football

Oshodi signed for

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

side Hemel Hempstead Town in March 2015. He was sent off in successive months for Hemel in October 2015, and left the club in November with manager Dean Brennan saying he needed to "balance the books". In December 2015 Oshodi signed for another

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side, St Albans City.

Wealdstone FC

Oshodi signed for

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

in the summer of 2016 and played two seasons with the club making over 50 league appearances before retiring in May 2018.

Hendon

In December 2019, Oshodi joined Hendon FC. He decided to step back from football in the summer of 2021.

International career

Oshodi is eligible to play for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Oshodi represented the England U16 and U17 teams and made three appearances at the 2009 European U17 Championship, as England crashed out in the group stage. In February 2012, Oshodi was called up to the England C team for a 2011–13 International Challenge Trophy match against Italy Lega Pro and played the full 90 minutes of the 1–1 draw. He then earned another call up to the England C squad in August 2012 for another 2011–13 International Challenge Trophy match against Belgium U23. Oshodi played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win over Belgium to earn his second cap.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshodi, Eddie 1992 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Brent English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football defenders Watford F.C. players Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players St Albans City F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players Hendon F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Black British sportsmen England men's semi-pro international footballers English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople 21st-century English sportsmen