Ibrahim Abdul Rahim Ayew (born 16 April 1988), also known as Ibrahim Ayew or Rahim Ayew, is a Ghanaian 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

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for Gibraltar Football League club Lincoln Red Imps.

Club career

Ayew began to play football at

Adisadel College Adisadel College, popularly known as "Adisco", is an Anglican boys' boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. It was established by Rt. Rev. Nathaniel T Hamlyn in 1910. Adisadel College is one of the oldest Senior high school, secondary schools in ...

, and later started his professional career with his father's team F.C. Nania and was in January 2009 transferred to Eleven Wise. He agreed to sign for German club

TSG Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into being in their modern fo ...

, signing on a three-and-a-half-year contract, but the deal never materialized. On 17 June 2009, after much speculation, then 21-year-old Ghanaian national player joined from Sekondi Wise Fighters to Egyptian giants El Zamalek FC, where he signed a five-year contract. In January 2011, he signed a contract with Lierse S.K. in the Jupiler League in Belgium. He became a free agent in July 2013 after a two-season stint with Lierse and then for 5 months, he tried to look for a team to play. In December 2013, he returned to Ghana, signing with

Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional sports, professional association football, football club founded on 31 August 1935 and based in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Nicknamed the ''African crested ...

. In 2016, Ayew moved to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

to sign with Premier Division side Europa. Used as a left-back in the side, he scored his first goal on 19 March 2017 against Europa Point. After 5 years at the club, Ayew left Europa in summer 2021. However, he returned to football a year later to sign for league rivals Bruno's Magpies, first appearing in their inaugural

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

squad to face

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

on 7 July 2022.

International career

Ayew has played for Ghana at the U-17, U-20,U-23 and the Senior Team levels. He was also called up for the friendly game of the

Ghana national football team The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international Association football, football. The team is named the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association, t ...

against

Mali national football team The Mali national football team ( Bambara: '' Mali jamana ntolatantɔn'', ) represents Mali in men's international football and is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The team's nickname is Les Aigles. They represent the country at tou ...

and played the game alongside his younger brother

André Ayew André Morgan Rami Ayew (; born 17 December 1989), also known as Dede Ayew in Ghana, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for club Le Havre and the Ghana national team, of which he is the captain. Ayew is the second- ...

. He played in the 2010 African cup of nations in Angola and placed 2nd in the tournament. He also featured in the CAF African Nations Cup Tournament (CHAN) and placed 2nd again in that tournament with Rahim voted twice as Man of the match in 2009. He was selected, together with his brother

as part of Ghana's 23-man team for the 2010 World Cup staged in South Africa.

Personal life

Abdul Rahim comes from a family of footballers. He is the half brother of

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and Imani, having the same father, Ghana's renowned ex captain Abédi Pelé. Abedi and his first wife had Rahim, before Abedi married Maha, mother of Abedi's other children. Rahim is the nephew of Sola Ayew and Ghana's retired ex striker Kwame Ayew.

Honours

Nania * E. K. Nayanar Memorial Football Gold Cup: 2007 Asante Kotoko *

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

: 2013–14 *

Ghanaian FA Cup The Ghana FA Cup, currently known as the MTN FA Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the annual knockout competition in Ghanaian football created in 1958, a year after the independence of Ghana. Open to all Ghanaian football clubs, the competiti ...

: 2013–14 * Ghana Super Cup: 2014 Europa *

Gibraltar Premier Division The Gibraltar Premier Division was a football league established by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) in 1905, and the top tier of football in Gibraltar. It originally contained eight member clubs, but it has grown over the years. In 1 ...

: 2016–17 *

Rock Cup The Rock Cup is Gibraltar's premier cup football competition, and is organized annually by the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA). From 1894/95 Gibraltar's Cup Competition was known as "The Senior Merchant's Cup". In 1935 a new trophy was prese ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, 2017–18,

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 ...

References

External links

Profile
*
Abdul Rahim Ayew – goalzz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayew, Ibrahim Living people Ghanaian men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Europa F.C. players F.C. Nania players Sekondi Eleven Wise F.C. players Zamalek SC players Lierse S.K. players Asante Kotoko S.C. players F.C. Bruno's Magpies players Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Egypt Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium 2010 FIFA World Cup players Ghanaian Muslims Egyptian Premier League players Ghana men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Gibraltar Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar Ayew family Ghanaian people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Footballers from Tamale, Ghana Ghana men's A' international footballers 2009 African Nations Championship players 1988 births 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen