Ibou Omar Touray (born 24 December 1994) is a 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

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. Touray began his career with local team Everton, but left in 2014 having made no appearances for the first team. He spent successive seasons in the lower leagues with

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 ...

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

, and Nantwich Town, before signing for

National League 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 League (English footb ...

team Salford City in 2017. He helped them achieve back to back promotions in his first two seasons, first to the

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 ...

and then to League Two, the first time Salford had reached the

English 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 their history. He is the longest serving player in the clubs' history, and helped the club win the 2020 EFL Trophy Final. During his final season, he served as the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Born in England, Touray represents

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

internationally, qualifying through his father. He made his international debut for Gambia in 2015, and represented his country at the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

, their first ever major international tournament, helping them to reach the quarter-finals.

Club career

Everton

Born in

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Liverpool, Canning, Dingle, Liverpool, Dingle, and Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, Touray started his career at Everton, having joined the club in 2011. He was close to joining

before joining Everton instead. After progressing through Everton's youth system, he signed his first professional contract at the club in July 2013. Although he was given a number 40 shirt in the 2013–14 season, he was released by the club in May 2014.

Chester

After leaving Everton in the summer, Touray went on trial at

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ...

. After the trial was unsuccessful, he joined

on 13 September 2014, having caught the eye of manager

Steve Burr Steve Burr (born 12 January 1960) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the assistant manager at 1874 Northwich. Playing career Steve Burr began his football career as a player with Stafford Rangers but it was with a summer ...

during a pre-season game between Tranmere and Chester. After appearing as an unused substitute against

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 ...

, Touray made his Chester debut three days after joining the club, coming on as a first half substitute in a 2–0 win over

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 ...

. After making his Chester debut, Touray quickly established himself in the starting eleven at the club, playing in the left-midfield position. His performance attracted attention from

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

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, where he was loaned out. He appeared on the substitute bench on two occasions. After returning, he appeared in every match until he was sent-off for a "wild challenge" on Nicky Clee, in a 4–1 loss to

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

on 31 December 2014. After he served a three match suspension Touray lost his first team place for the rest of the season and was released by the club.

Rhyl

After leaving Chester, Touray moved to Wales when he joined

. Touray made his Rhyl debut in the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

on 21 August 2015, being selected for the starting 11. After making his Rhyl debut, he established himself in the starting eleven for the side despite missing out one game through suspension. It wasn't until 9 April 2016 Touray scored his first goals, in a 5–0 win over Port Talbot Town. Rhyl had not won in 16 matches and faced accusations of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

due to suspicious betting patterns. After one season at Rhyl, Touray was released in May 2016.

Nantwich Town

After being released by Rhyl, he signed for Nantwich Town. His move came after at a recommendation from the club's manager Dave Cooke. Touray made his Nantwich Town debut in the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw against

Ashton United Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of and play at Hurst Cross. Having been founded as Hurst in 1892, they folded in 1892, before being reformed in 1909. ...

. Throughout the season, Touray established himself in the starting eleven at Nantwich Town as a left-back. He'a also played a role when the club won 5–3 in the penalty shootout to the final of Cheshire Senior Cup against Warrington Town. However, the club went on to lose the final after losing to

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' ...

3–2. After making 41 appearances in all competitions, Touray was awarded the club's Young Player of the Year.

Salford City

In May 2017, he signed for Salford City. Touray made his Salford City debut in the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 loss against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. At the conclusion of the 2018–19 season as Salford earned back-to-back promotions into the Football League, Touray scored Salford's third goal in the

2019 National League play-off final The 2019 National League play-off final , known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match played at Wembley Stadium in London on 11 May 2019 to decide the second team to be promoted from the Nat ...

, a 3–0 victory against

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 11 May 2019. In 2021, he played in the delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final against

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 ...

, helping keep a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw before Salford won the resulting

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Following an impressive

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, Touray was named in the 2020–21 EFL League Two Team of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony. In June 2021, Touray signed a new two-year contract; Touray and manager

Gary Bowyer Gary David Bowyer (born 22 June 1971) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Burton Albion. As a player, he made 52 league appearances for Hereford United, Nottingham Forest and Rotherham United in a p ...

both cited a connection with Salford's supporters as being key to the new deal. He made his 200th appearance for ''The Ammies'' against

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

in November 2021, cementing his record as the club's modern-day record appearance holder. IbouTouray202223

In January 2023, he made his 250th Salford appearance in a 2–0 league win against

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, ...

. Along with teammate Elliot Watt, Touray was named in the EFL League Two Team of the Season for the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season.

Stockport County

In June 2023, it was announced that he would sign for

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 1 July 2023. Touray scored his first goal for ''The Hatters'' against former club Salford at

Moor Lane Moor Lane, currently known as the Peninsula Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Kersal, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the current home ground of Salford City Football Club since its opening in 19 ...

on 14 March 2024, scoring his teams' first to help overcome a two-goal defiicit. On 20 May 2025, the club announced it had offered Touray a new contract. On 9 June 2025, the club announced Tourray would be leaving once his contract expired.

Bradford City

On 20 June 2025, it was announced that Touray would join

on 1 July 2025. He featured in the club's photo shoot for their new away kit. Bradford's manager

Graham Alexander Graham Alexander (born 10 October 1971) is a professional football coach and former player who manages EFL League One club Bradford City. In a lengthy playing career, Alexander represented Scunthorpe United, Luton Town, Preston North End an ...

had previously managed Touray at Salford, and Alexander said that Touray would fit in with his new club.

International career

He made his international debut for

in 2015. Touray is eligible for Gambia through his father, who moved to England aged 16, and is one of several of the Gambian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

called up who helped the country's results improve. In a 2021 interview, Touray said that his proudest moment in international football was when Gambia drew 1–1 with

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, who at the time were unbeaten in over two years. Touray played in the

, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made the quarter-final. He described representing the country at the tournament, as well as visiting the residency of

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow (, born 15 February 1965) is a The Gambia, Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of The Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village in Jimara district, he attended Crab Island Secondary ...

, the

President of the Gambia The president of the Republic of the Gambia is the head of state and head of government of the Gambia. The president leads the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics of the Gambia, government of the Gambia and is the comma ...

, as "surreal". He missed the knockout stage match against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

through illness. At the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

, Touray became the first Stockport County player to feature at a major international tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Salford City *

play-offs:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

: 2017–18 *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

: 2019–20 Stockport County *

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

: 2023–24 Individual * Salford City Player of the Season: 2019–20 * EFL League Two Team of the Season:

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 ...

: 2022–23 League Two, 2023–24 League Two

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Touray, Ibou 1994 births Living people English men's footballers Naturalized citizens of The Gambia 21st-century Gambian people Gambian men's footballers The Gambia men's international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Everton F.C. players Chester F.C. players Rhyl F.C. players Nantwich Town F.C. players Salford City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Cymru Premier players English people of Gambian descent Footballers from Liverpool People from Toxteth 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Black British sportsmen English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen