Chigozie Eze Ugwu (born 22 April 1993) is an English 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 plays 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 ...
for
Nejmeh
Nejmeh Sporting Club () is a football club based in Manara, a neighbourhood in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the .
The club was established in Beirut in 1945, and received its license in 1947. Nejmeh have won nine Lebanese Pre ...
. He made his debut 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 ...
in 2012, and his debut in the
Scottish Professional Football League
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As well ...
in 2014.
Club career
Reading
Ugwu was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, Oxfordshire.
He began his career with
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
and progressed through the club's academy to sign a first professional contract in June 2011.
He joined
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 ...
side
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 ...
on a one-month loan in January 2012, and made his debut in a 1–0
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
defeat at
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
. Ugwu his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win at
Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. Nicknamed the "R ...
, and two more in his next three appearances, against
Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
and
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
, before the loan was extended by a further month.
He returned to Reading at the start of April to try and earn a new contract after scoring four goals in ten league and cup appearances for Ebbsfleet.
He signed a new two-year contract with Reading in July 2012 and 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
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 ...
on loan for six months. Ugwu made his debut in a 3–0
League Cup win against
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 ...
in August, and scored his first two goals for Yeovil in a 4–0 win at
Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The club was formed in ...
eleven days later. He scored one more goal, against
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...
, and returned to Reading at the start of January 2013 after making five starts and 13 substitute appearances for Yeovil. Soon after his return, Ugwu was included in a Reading match-day squad for the first time ahead of an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
tie with
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...
. He was named among the substitutes but did not make an appearance in a 3–1 win for Reading.
Later in January, Ugwu joined
League Two club
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
on a one-month youth loan.
In his second week with the club, he injured his ankle and was unavailable for two matches. He resumed training in February and made his debut for Argyle two days later in a 2–1 win at
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The club was founded in the spr ...
as a second-half substitute. Despite his injury hit start, manager
John Sheridan was keen to extend Ugwu's stay and on 19 February his loan was extended for a further month. Having started only two games, and with Reading keen for Ugwu to get playing time, he was recalled from loan on 11 March.
On 14 November 2013, Ugwu signed on loan 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 ...
until January and made his debut two days later in a 3–1 defeat to
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
. He returned to Reading having scored once in seven appearances after Shrewsbury manager
Graham Turner
Graham John Turner (born 5 October 1947) is an English former footballer who became a manager. His son Mark was also a professional footballer. He is fourth behind only Alex Ferguson, Neil Warnock and Arsène Wenger in terms of most games man ...
decided against renewing his loan.
On his decision not to extend Ugwu's stay, Turner commented that despite a positive start, he felt criticism from the fans had impacted on his performances.
In May 2014 he left Reading following the expiry of his contract, going on to have trials with
Oxford United
Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
and
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 ...
.
Dunfermline Athletic
On 2 August 2014, Ugwu joined
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...
side
Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
. He made his debut days later, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute of the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,[Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League.
The club has won f ...](_blank)
. On 23 August 2014, Ugwu scored twice in 3–0 home victory over
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club ...
, netting in the 24th and 80th minute. On 22 November 2014, Ugwu scored his first career hat-trick in a 4–0 home victory against
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in as a member of the Scottish Profession ...
, netting all three goals in the space of 60 minutes.
Yeovil Town
Following his release from Dunfermline, Ugwu rejoined
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 ...
on 15 January 2015 until the end of the season. Despite finishing the season as Yeovil's joint top goalscorer with five, Ugwu was released by Yeovil at the end of the 2014–15 season following their relegation to League Two.
Wycombe Wanderers
On 9 September 2015, Ugwu signed a permanent deal with
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Founded in 188 ...
to the end of the 2015–16 season. Three days later, Ugwu was given his debut by manager
Gareth Ainsworth
Gareth Ainsworth (born 10 May 1973) is an English professional former player and football manager who is the manager of club Gillingham.
A former youth player at Blackburn Rovers, the midfielder, who was known for his crossing ability, moved ...
in Wycombe's 2–1 home defeat against
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...
, playing the full 90 minutes. A week later, Ugwu went onto score his first goal for Wycombe Wanderers in their 1–1 draw with
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
, opening the scoring just before half time. On 30 January 2016, Ugwu scored the winner in Wycombe's reverse fixture against Plymouth Argyle, netting the only goal of the game in the 3rd minute.
On 9 May 2016, it was announced that Ugwu would leave the club upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June 2016, along with team-mates;
Max Kretzschmar,
Alex Lynch
Alexander Patrick Lynch (born 4 April 1995) is a Welsh football coach and former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently player/goalkeeping coach at Holyhead Hotspur.
Club career
Peterborough United
Lynch joined Peterborough ...
and
Ryan Sellers.
Woking
On 15 July 2016, Ugwu joined
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
side
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
on a one-year deal. On 6 August 2016, Ugwu made his Woking debut in a 3–1 home defeat against
Lincoln City, playing the full 90 minutes.
On 27 August 2016, Ugwu scored his first Woking goal in a 4–1 defeat against
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
, netting the opener in the 8th minute. Two days later, Ugwu went on to score Woking's third against
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
, in the Cards first victory of the 2016–17 campaign. On 18 October 2016, in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
fourth qualifying round replay against
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...
, Ugwu scored a brace to send Woking through to the first round. In following round of the FA Cup, Ugwu once again scored a brace to assist Woking to a 4–2 victory over
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
. On 26 November 2016, Ugwu scored his first Woking hat-trick in a 3–0 home victory against
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
, sealing his 12th goal of the season. On 1 April 2017, Ugwu came off the bench to score the winner in Woking's 2–1 victory over
Sutton United
Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
Sutton started out playing in junior, ...
, after being dropped for new signing
Jamie Lucas
Jamie Lucas (born 6 December 1995) is a Welsh footballer who plays for Droitwich Spa as a striker.
Born near Pontypridd, South Wales, Lucas spent one season playing for Bristol Rovers Central in the Midland Junior Premier League, before joinin ...
. On 17 April 2017, Ugwu scored his 20th goal of the campaign, in Woking's 3–2 away victory against
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
, converting a penalty in the 91st minute.
Chesterfield
On 25 May 2017, Ugwu joined
League Two side
Chesterfield on a two-year deal. On 5 August 2017, Ugwu made his Chesterfield debut during their 3–1 home defeat against
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...
, featuring for the entire 90 minutes. Following sustaining a long-term thigh injury in late 2017, Ugwu returned to action during Chesterfield's penultimate fixture of the season, replacing
Jerome Binnom-Williams with nineteen minutes to play in the 2–1 defeat.
Ebbsfleet United
Having finished the 2018–19 season on loan at
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 ...
, Ugwu joined the club on a permanent basis on 24 June 2019.
Raith Rovers
Ugwu returned to Scotland on 20 August 2020, joining
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
club
Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League.
The club has won f ...
.
Morton
Ugwu then moved to another Scottish club,
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...
, in June 2021.
Saudi Arabia
In August 2022, Ugwu moved to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
to join second-tier
Jeddah Club
Jeddah Sports Club () is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Jeddah. Founded in 1968, the club competes in the Saudi First Division League, the second tier in the Saudi Arabian football league system. It has a women's section.
...
. On 2 October 2023, Ugwu joined
Saudi Second Division
The Saudi Second Division League, also known as the Second Division League (SDL), is a football league that is the third tier of the Saudi Arabian football league system. The league consists of 32 teams divided into two groups.
Competition forma ...
side
Al-Entesar. On 14 September 2024, Ugwu joined First Division side
Al-Ain
Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...
.
After three years in Saudi Arabia, Ugwu joined
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
Nejmeh
Nejmeh Sporting Club () is a football club based in Manara, a neighbourhood in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the .
The club was established in Beirut in 1945, and received its license in 1947. Nejmeh have won nine Lebanese Pre ...
in April 2025.
Personal life
Born in England, Ugwu is of Nigerian descent.
Career statistics
Honours
Club
;Reading
*
U21 Premier League Cup
The Premier League Cup is an English football competition run by the Premier League for under-21 sides.
History
The competition was established in 2013 as the U21 Premier League Cup, an under-21 equivalent of the FA Youth Cup (an under-18 compe ...
:
2013–14
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugwu, Gozie
1993 births
Living people
Footballers from Oxford
English people of Nigerian descent
Sportspeople of Nigerian descent
English men's footballers
English expatriate men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Black British sportsmen
Reading F.C. players
Ebbsfleet United F.C. players
Yeovil Town F.C. players
Plymouth Argyle F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players
Woking F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Boreham Wood F.C. players
Raith Rovers F.C. players
Greenock Morton F.C. players
Jeddah Club players
Al-Entesar Club players
Al-Ain FC (Saudi Arabia) players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Saudi First Division League players
Saudi Second Division players
English expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia
21st-century English sportsmen
Nejmeh SC players
Lebanese Premier League players
Expatriate men's footballers in Lebanon
English expatriate sportspeople in Lebanon