Efetobore Peter "Efe" Sodje (born 5 October 1972) 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 lea ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Sodje played for several

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

clubs, and is famous for wearing a

do-rag A durag ( alternate spellings) is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kinky ...

, with the headband often having the words "Against All Odds". He represented

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, ...

in the

2000 African Cup of Nations The 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field ...

and the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. Sodje began his career at

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

and later played for

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, Gillingham, Bury, Barrow and

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

in two spells.

Career

Early career

Sodje began his career playing for

in the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

, who he had signed for ahead of the 1994–95 season. Prior to signing for Stevenage, Sodje had unsuccessful trials at both

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

and

. He featured in Stevenage's reserve side throughout August 1994, waiting for his international clearance to come through before making a first-team appearance. He eventually made his debut on 27 September 1994, starting in Stevenage's 1–0 defeat at

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The most prominent aspect of the club is its men's first team, who play in the , the seventh level of the E ...

. Sodje made a total of 33 appearances during the 1994–95 campaign, scoring once in a 5–0 win over

, a game in which he came off the substitutes' bench to score. Sodje remained at Stevenage the following season, helping the club win the Conference National title, however they would be denied promotion to the

due to insufficient ground facilities. During the season, he made a total of 49 appearances, scoring five goals, four of which came in the league. Sodje's third season at Stevenage was his best in goalscoring terms; he scored 7 times in 55 games in all competitions as Stevenage finished the season in third place, beaten to the title by

. Sodje left Stevenage at the end of the season to join newly promoted Football League side Macclesfield Town. He had made 138 appearances for Stevenage during his three-year spell with the side, scoring 13 goals. Sodje scored on his Football League debut, which was also Macclesfield Town's first game in the League. He played 83 times and scored 6 goals for Macclesfield Town before he left to join

in 1999; there, he made only 9 appearances and was loaned out to

for part of the 1999–2000 season. Sodje made three appearances for Colchester before returning to Luton. Sodje moved to

in 2000, where he made 97 league appearances over three seasons. His first goal for Crewe came in their 4–2 win over

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

on 8 December 2001. During his time at Crewe Sodje was called up to the

squad for the first time in his career, and played at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

in Japan.

Huddersfield Town

Sodje joined then Division 3 side

, where he was made captain. His Town debut came in their 2–1 win over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in the first round of the League Cup on 12 August 2003. His league debut came in their 2–2 draw with

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

on 16 August. He scored his first goal for the Terriers came in their 2–0 home win over Boston United in January 2004. In his first season with the Terriers he helped them to the Division Three Play-off title. Sodje was also voted into the PFA PFA Players' Division Three team of the season for the 2003–04 season

Southend United

Sodje left Southend following their relegation from 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 ...

in the 2006–07 season. On 10 July 2007, he joined

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side Gillingham on a two-year deal, and made his debut in the 1–0 away defeat to

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

on 11 August. In February 2008 he joined Bury on loan until the end of the season, and was transfer listed on 5 June 2008.

Bury

It was announced on 1 July 2008, that his contract had been terminated by Gillingham. Sodje was signed by Bury on a two-year contract as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

, on 3 July 2008. At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, he was named 2nd vice-captain by

Alan Knill Alan Richard Knill (born 8 October 1964) is a professional football manager and former player, who is a coach for the Wales national team and Sheffield United. He played as a centre-back for several clubs, spending the most time at Halifax T ...

after

Ryan Lowe Ryan Thomas Lowe (born 18 September 1978) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is currently head coach of side Wigan Athletic. Lowe's playing career, as a striker, began at Burscough in 1999 and he became a Foot ...

. In May 2011 he signed a new two-year contract extension. He made his 500th league appearance in January 2012 playing for Bury in a 1–1 draw against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

Return to Macclesfield Town

In June 2013 Sodje returned to Macclesfield Town as assistant manager to

John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Truro City. Able to play as a winger or as a striker, Askey had pace and intelligence. A former youth team play ...

; Sodje also registered himself as a player for the Silkmen. He left the club for undisclosed reasons in November 2015.

International career

Although born in England, Sodje like his brother Sam represented

at international level. He was part of the squad that finished second to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

in the

. He was also part of the

squad that went to the

making two appearances against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

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 ...

. Sodje played 12 times, scoring once in a 2–1 friendly win against

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

in 2002.

Personal life

Born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, his family originate from

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

, in

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

, Nigeria. Sodje is the eldest of four brothers who all play football; three of them professionally and one semi-professionally. Sam and Akpo (the youngest of the four) have both played alongside him; he played alongside Akpo at

and he has represented

at international level with Sam. Steve, who plays semi-professionally has never played a

game. Another brother,

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

, used to play

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. His nephew Onome Sodje has also played professionally in England. Sodje started wearing a do-rag in 1994 at the request of his mother. In September 2017, Sodje (along with his brothers Stephen and Bright) was sentenced to 18 months in prison for

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, having siphoned off money from a charity, the Sodje Sports Foundation.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Stevenage Borough *

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

: 1995–96 Macclesfield Town *

Football League Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the Third Division become the fourth tier of English football. In 2 ...

runner-up: 1997–98 Crewe Alexandra *

runner-up: 2002–03 Huddersfield Town *

Football League Third Division play-offs The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Southend United *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

: 2005–06 Bury *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

runner-up: 2010–11 Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2003–04

References

External links

*
Profile
at Bury {{DEFAULTSORT:Sodje, Efe 1972 births Living people Footballers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich People from Greenwich English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English men's footballers Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Stevenage F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Bury F.C. players Bury F.C. non-playing staff Barrow A.F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches English Football League players National League (English football) players Nigeria men's international footballers 2000 African Cup of Nations players 2002 FIFA World Cup players English criminals Nigerian criminals British people convicted of fraud Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Sportspeople convicted of crimes

Efe Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major Spanish language, Spanish-language multimedia news agency and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was ...