James Omonigho Igbekeme (born 4 July 1995) 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

or winger for Polish

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

club

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

Career

Portugal

Born in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Igbekeme left his hometown at the age of 18 to join Portuguese third division side G.D. Ribeirão in the 2013–14 season. In 2015, he moved to fellow league team

U.D. Oliveirense União Desportiva Oliveirense (UDO), commonly known as Oliveirense, is a Portugal, Portuguese sports club from the city of Oliveira de Azeméis, in Aveiro District. The club was founded on 25 October 1922. The main football (soccer), football te ...

. In June 2017, Igbekeme signed for

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...

side Gil Vicente F.C. He made his professional debut on 6 August, starting and scoring the winner in a 2–1 away defeat of

FC Porto B Futebol Clube do Porto B, commonly known as Porto B, is a Portuguese professional football team, which serves as the reserve side of FC Porto. They compete in the Liga Portugal 2, the second division of Portuguese football, and play their home ...

. On 28 October 2017, Igbekeme scored a brace in a 4–0 home routing of

S.L. Benfica B Sport Lisboa e Benfica "B" (), commonly known as Benfica B, is a Portuguese professional association football, football team based in Seixal. Founded in 1999, dissolved in 2006, and restarted in 2012, it is the reserve team of Portuguese club S. ...

. He finished the campaign with five goals in 32 appearances, but his side eventually suffered relegation.

Real Zaragoza

In June 2018, Igbekeme was transferred to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

for a reported

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

150,000, signing a four-year deal with the club. He made his debut in August on the first matchday of the season, a 2–1 home victory over

Rayo Majadahonda Club de Fútbol Rayo Majadahonda () is a Spanish professional football club in Majadahonda, in the autonomous community of Madrid. Founded in 1976 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Cerro del Espino'', with a capacity of 3,800 seats. ...

. Igbekeme scored his first goal for ''Los Blanquillos'' on 8 September against

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

. On 18 June 2020, it was announced that Igbekeme had signed a contract extension, keeping him with Zaragoza until 2023. Initially a regular starter, he gradually started to feature more sparingly due to injuries and loss of form.

Loans

In January 2022, Igbekeme signed a contract extension and was subsequently loaned to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

until December, with Columbus holding an option to exercise a permanent transfer. After completing one season stateside, his purchase option was declined and he returned to Spain. However, new Zaragoza manager Fran Escribá did not see a place for Igbekeme in the squad, and sent Igbekeme on loan to Polish side

in late February 2023. Igbekeme would make 14 appearances and score one goal for the club.

Ponferradina

On 10 August 2023, he terminated his contract with Zaragoza and signed a contract with

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Primera Federación - Group 1, holding home ma ...

. On 12 November, Igbekeme scored a free-kick goal in his team's 1-0 win against

Return to Wisła

On 19 August 2024, Igbekeme re-joined Wisła Kraków, this time permanently, on a deal until the end of the season. On 11 June 2025, Wisła announced Igbekeme would leave the club at the end of the month. After being linked with

Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza Klub Sportowy Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza (), is a Polish professional football club based in Nieciecza. They compete in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of the Polish footbal ...

and

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

, Igbekeme re-signed with Wisła on 16 July 2025.

Style of play

Noted as a versatile player able to play multiple midfield positions as well as out wide on the wing, Igbekeme has described himself as a player who "works hard, enjoys putting in effort, and always likes to help the team."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Igbekeme, James 1995 births Living people Footballers from Lagos Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football wingers Men's association football forwards Liga Portugal 2 players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players Segunda División players Primera Federación players Major League Soccer players I liga players G.D. Ribeirão players U.D. Oliveirense players Gil Vicente F.C. players Real Zaragoza players Columbus Crew players Wisła Kraków players SD Ponferradina players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Poland 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen