Chukwuemeka Ibezimife Nwadike (born 9 August 1978) is an English 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 ...

. He played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

notably in the

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 ...

for

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

between 1996 and 1998. Following on from that he held a career in Non-League football and played for Grantham Town,

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

, Ilkeston Town,

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

, AFC Telford United, Hinckley United, Eastwood Town,

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 ...

, Mickleover Sports, Stamford and Rainworth Miners Welfare.

Career

Nwadike began his career in the youth ranks at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

but was snubbed a professional contract and was snapped up by

in 1996. After two seasons at

Gay Meadow Gay Meadow was a football ground in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, serving as the home ground of Shrewsbury Town. Located on the banks of the River Severn, it opened in 1910. The ground closed at the end of the 2006-07 Football League seas ...

he was released and exited the

to join Non-League Grantham Town. He moved on to

in 2000 and then on to Ilkeston Town in 2001. Ilkeston loaned Nwadike to

in 2003, and he was eventually released at the end of the 2002–2003 season. In June 2003 he signed for

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 ...

side

on a free transfer, eventually becoming club captain as well as making 126 league appearances, some of which came in the

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 ...

division that was formed in 2004 with Alfreton as a founding member. In 2007, he joined

, and later A.F.C. Telford United a year later. Following 20 appearances for United in the 2008–2009 season he was made available for loan and signed with Hinckley United for the remainder of the season. In July 2009 Nwadike joined Eastwood Town, and a year later he was amongst a number of new signings made by

Brian Little Brian Little (born 25 November 1953) is an English football manager and former player. As a player, Little was a striker who spent his entire career for Aston Villa in a career that spanned from 1971 to 1980. He made 247 league appearances, ...

. He failed to make a single appearance for the club from joining the club in July 2010 to his departure in March 2011, namely because of an achilles injury. He re-joined Eastwood Town in March and in June 2011 he began an employment tribunal against Gainsborough for a confidential matter between club and player. Nwadike then joined Northern Premier League team Stamford A.F.C. in February 2014 to add some experience to a young team in their bid to remain in the division having been promoted via the play-offs the season before.

References

External links

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Player History Profile

Grantham Town ProfileWorcester F.C. ProfileSoccerfacts UK Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwadike, Emeka 1978 births Living people English people of Igbo descent Igbo sportspeople Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players King's Lynn F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Hednesford Town F.C. players Alfreton Town F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players AFC Telford United players Hinckley United F.C. players Eastwood Town F.C. players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Mickleover F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players Rainworth Miners Welfare F.C. players English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Men's association football midfielders English men's footballers Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark People from Camberwell English Football League players