Ismail Salami Yakubu, (born 8 April 1985) is a Nigerian 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 defender for Cinderford Town. He has been

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

for the England semi-professional team.

Club career

Barnet

Yakubu was born in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

, and raised in England. He joined Barnet at the age of 11, turned professional at 16, and made his first-team debut at the age of 17 while still studying for his

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

– a 3–2 defeat against rivals

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

, with Yakubu coming on as a 67th-minute substitute. He started the following match in a 1–1 draw with

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

. He became a regular in the first-team squad, and was team captain from August 2007 to November 2008. In June 2009 he signed a new two-year contract with the club. He was released in May 2010 after making a total of 297 appearances for the club.

AFC Wimbledon

In July 2010, Yakubu signed for

Conference Premier 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 Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

side

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

. On 14 August 2010, Yakubu made his AFC Wimbledon debut in a 1–0 victory 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 ...

, featuring for the full 90 minutes. On 11 September 2010, Yakubu scored his first goal for the club, doubling AFC Wimbledon's lead in their 4–0 victory over Bath City. He played in the 2011 Conference Premier play-off final, coming off the bench and scoring a penalty in the penalty shoot-out. After appearing in twenty-seven league games, Yakubu was released at the end of the season.

Newport County

On 24 May 2011, he was released by AFC Wimbledon and on 22 June joined Newport County. On 13 August 2011, Yakubu made his Newport County debut in their 3–2 defeat against Kettering Town, featuring for the entire 90 minutes. On 26 September 2011, Yakubu joined fellow Conference Premier side

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

on a one-month emergency loan deal. However, Yakubu returned to Newport without making a single appearance at Cambridge. On 12 May 2012, Yakubu played for Newport County in the FA Trophy Final at

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 ...

which Newport lost 2–0 to

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 ...

. In the 2012–13 season he was part of the Newport team that finished 3rd in the league, reaching the Conference Premier play-offs. Newport County won the playoff final versus Wrexham at Wembley Stadium 2–0 to return to the Football League after a 25-year absence with promotion to

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

. On 12 May 2015, it was announced that Yakubu would leave the club upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June.

Woking

Shortly after his release from Newport, Yakubu went on to sign a one-year contract with

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 ...

for the 2015–2016 season. Unfortunately his season only lasted six games after rupturing his anterior cruciate knee ligaments in a game against Boreham Wood On 18 May 2016, Yakubu signed a new one-year deal with Woking. Preceding the departure of Mark Ricketts, Yakubu was named captain for the 2016–17 campaign. Yakubu scored his first goal of the season, in Woking's 3–1 home defeat against Lincoln City, netting the Cards' equaliser just after the half-time break. On 23 May 2017, it was announced that Yakubu would leave Woking upon the expiry of his current deal in June 2017.

Hemel Hempstead Town

On 12 June 2017, it was announced that Yakubu would join

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side Hemel Hempstead Town preceding his release from Woking.

Kingstonian

Yakubu signed for Kingstonian on 22 February 2019.

Hayes & Yeading United

Yakubu lined up for Hayes & Yeading United on the opening day of the 2019–20 season. In November 2019, he joined Merthyr Town on loan until the New Year. The loan was then extended until the end of the season. Yakubu became a fans favourite at The Martyrs after his impressive performances towards the end of the 2019/20 season.

Merthyr Town

Merthyr Town completed the signing of Yakubu ahead of the 2020/21 season, after his six-month loan from Hayes & Yeading United. He left the club when they suspended their participation from the Southern League before the start of the season.

Penybont

Yakubu signed for

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

side Penybont after his departure from Merthyr.

Return to Merthyr

Yakubu re-joined Merthyr for the 2021–22 season.

Cinderford Town

In November 2023, Yakubu joined Cinderford Town.

Career statistics

Honours

Barnet *

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 ...

: 2004–05 AFC Wimbledon *

play-offs:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Newport County *

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 ...

runners-up 2011–12 *

play-offs: 2012–13

References

External links

* (2002–2004) * (2004–) {{DEFAULTSORT:Yakubu, Ismail 1985 births Living people Footballers from Kano Nigerian men's footballers English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers Black British sportsmen Men's association football defenders Barnet F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Newport County A.F.C. players Woking F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players Kingstonian F.C. players Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Penybont F.C. players Cinderford Town A.F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Southern Football League players Cymru Premier players Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen