Eyad Omar Hammoud (; ; born 24 July 2001) 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

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 ...

. Born in Lebanon to a Lebanese father and a Bulgarian mother, Hammoud moved to Bulgaria at a young age and obtained

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

; he represented

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

at youth level between 2016 and 2019, before switching allegiance to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Club career

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Hammoud made his professional debut for

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv (), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Stadion Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park and ha ...

on 20 November 2016, in the local derby against

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev AD, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv (, ), or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional Association football, football club based in Plovdiv. It competes in the First Professiona ...

. At age of 15 years, 3 months and 26 days he became the second-youngest player to play in

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

. Lokomotiv won the match 2–0, with Hammoud assisting the first goal.

Sheffield Wednesday

In the beginning of 2017, Hammoud trialled with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, returning to Lokomotiv with and option to sign with the team in the summer. On 27 June 2017, he signed a two-year contract with the club, joining the under-18 team until gaining a work permit. Hammoud trialed with

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 ...

in April 2019, but returned to Sheffield until he was released by the club on 8 May.

Ansar

On 6 August 2019, Hammoud signed for

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division (), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. Established in 1934 and organized by the Lebanese Football Association (LFA), the Lebanese Premier Leagu ...

side Ansar on a five-year deal.

International career

On 23 May 2017, Hammoud played for Bulgaria U16 in the 1–1 draw against Cyprus U16. He was also called up for the U18 team in March 2019 to play two friendly games against Ukraine U18. In August 2019 Hammoud switched allegiance to Lebanon, representing his native country's under-19 team in two friendly games against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Style of play

center forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

with good technical skills, Hammoud is a fast player, both on and off the ball, with good vision and positioning in the field. Hammoud's link up play with his team mates, as well as his eye for goal, are vital in his teams' attacking plays.

Personal life

Hammoud was born in Majdal Anjar, Lebanon. His father, Omar, is Lebanese and his mother, Maria, is Bulgarian from

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

. He moved with his family to

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, Bulgaria, in 2009 at the age of eight. He holds dual citizenship, Lebanese and Bulgarian.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday * U18 Professional Development League Division 2: 2018–19 * U18 Professional Development League Division 2 North: 2018–19 Individual *

Debut of the Year: 2016

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammoud, Eyad Living people 2001 births People from Zahle District Lebanese men's footballers Bulgarian men's footballers Lebanese people of Bulgarian descent Bulgarian people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Men's association football forwards PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Al Ansar FC players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Lebanon men's youth international footballers Lebanese expatriate men's footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in England Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen