Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro
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Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (born 4 January 1985) is a French 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 for club Glossop North End on a dual-registration basis with Wythenshawe Town. Akpa Akpro came through the youth ranks at
Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...
where he picked up
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
experience, before moving to Belgian side
FC Brussels Racing White Daring Molenbeek Brussels Football Club, often simply referred to as RWDM Brussels, F.C. Brussels or simply Brussels, was a Belgian professional association football club based in the municipality of Molenbeek, in the Brussels, Bru ...
. He subsequently moved to England, where he forged a career 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 ...
, initially playing for
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 ...
between 2008 and 2010 before moving on to
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
, Bury,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Barnet, Yeovil Town and
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 ...
. In 2019, he had a brief hiatus from English football when he joined
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
side Masfout. In 2020 he joined English non-league club Radcliffe before signing for Welsh club Flint Town United in 2022. He was previously called up to play international football for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
at U18 level but injury forced him to withdraw from the squad.


Early life

Akpa Akpro was born in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, Haute-Garonne.


Career


Toulouse

Akpa Akpro started his career at his hometown club
Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...
club
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
as a youngster in 2003. While at with the club, he spent time on loan with
Stade Brestois 29 Stade Brestois 29, commonly known as Stade Brestois or simply Brest,''Stade Brest'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, is not a grammatically correct name for the club. is a French professional football club based in ...
in the French Second Division where he scored twice in 15 appearances. He featured in around 40 games for Toulouse from between 2003 and 2007, managing to score a total of three goals. While with Toulouse, Akpa Akpro was briefly called up to the France U18 International team, but was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury. He was never selected again.


FCM Brussels

Akpa Akpro was released by Toulouse at the end of the 2006–07 season. He then left France and headed north where he signed for Belgian side
FC Brussels Racing White Daring Molenbeek Brussels Football Club, often simply referred to as RWDM Brussels, F.C. Brussels or simply Brussels, was a Belgian professional association football club based in the municipality of Molenbeek, in the Brussels, Bru ...
in the summer of 2007. He remained with the club for the 2007–08 season, playing only a cameo role in the club's season by making only three appearances for the club. Akpro was released at the end of the season. After his departure from Brussels, Akpa Akpro had travelled to England where he joined
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...
in a pre-season trial, before also spending a week training with
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 ...
. However, neither trial led to a contract offer and Akpa Akpro began the 2008–09 season as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
.


Grimsby Town

On 2 December 2008, Akpa Akpro joined English club
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 ...
on trial with a view of earning a permanent contract. A day later he received international clearance to play for Grimsby's reserve team in their league fixture away against
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 ...
. He played the entire 90 minutes in a 2–1 win for Grimsby. Two days later, on 4 December 2008 he was offered and subsequently signed an 18-month contract keeping him at
Blundell Park Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9,05 ...
until the end of the 2009–10 season. The signing of Akpro at Grimsby would be the third French-speaking player to join the club under Mike Newell, with Congolese midfielder Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala and fellow Frenchman Mickael Buscher also arriving at Cleethorpes. He originally was set to make his debut against
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 ...
on 6 December, but his papers from the
Belgian Football Association The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the ...
were not received on time for him to feature. He instead made his debut against
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 ...
on 13 December, and helped Grimsby to record their first home league victory of the season with a 1–0 victory. He went on to make it into the League Two Team of the Week after setting up Nathan Jarman's winner against
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 ...
on 17 January 2009. In the remaining months of the season, The Mariners were involved in a relegation battle, in which Akpa Akpro found himself playing a key part, mainly being fielded in attack alongside
Adam Proudlock Adam David Proudlock (born 9 May 1981) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. Proudlock played as a striker from 1998 to 2015. He started his career in the Football League with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1998; he we ...
. In March 2009, Akpro and Proudlock destroyed local rivals Lincoln City in a 5–1 victory, with Akpa Akpro scoring two, and Proudlock hitting a hat-trick. Towards the very end of the campaign
Barry Conlon Barry John Conlon (born 1 October 1978) is an Irish former professional footballer and Head Coach of New York-based LMFC Blue Jaguars As a player he was a striker from 1996 to 2013. Conlon's career started with Queens Park Rangers but he moved ...
became Akpro's regular strike partner, and the two would turn out to become vital to the club's eventual survival from relegation. During the 2009–10 season, a managerial change saw the man responsible for his arrival at Grimsby, Mike Newell sacked in October 2009. During the season in which many different players were used all over the pitch, Akpro's role in the first team would change from week to week, with some weeks new boss
Neil Woods Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
choosing to play him in his usual attacking role, whilst other weeks he operated in a wide left position or on the wing, and in other weeks merely only a substitute and in some circumstances also failing to make the 18 man squad at all. Akpro would play his part in ending an awful club record when he scored in a 3–0 victory over
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 ...
on 6 March 2010, which was Grimsby's first league victory in 25 games. Following relegation from the Football League, Akpro rejected Grimsby's new contract offer and left the club on 26 June 2010.


Rochdale

On 7 July he signed a two-year deal with
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 ...
newcomers
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
, after he turned down a new contract at Grimsby. He made his Rochdale debut in a friendly match against
Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...
in which he scored from 20 yards out in a 3–0 victory. In his first season with Dale, the club earned a very respectable 9th place in League One, and were unlucky to miss out on capturing a play-off place. During the 2011–12 campaign Akpro and Rochdale were relegated.


Tranmere Rovers

On 19 June 2012 he signed a two-year deal with
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 he turned down a new contract from Rochdale. He scored a brace on his debut against
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. ...
on 18 August 2012, this prompted his manager
Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs, including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He is currently the chief scout at Hartlepool ...
to comment saying Jean-Louis is capable of playing in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and that he fully expected him to score 20 goals throughout the coming season. After topping the scoring charts of League 1 with seven goals in ten games, it was announced Akpa Akpro would be out for three months with a fractured metatarsal, coming off in the 18th minute in a 1–0 victory away at Notts County. Unfortunately Akpa Akpro, low on confidence following the injury, was never able to recapture his sensational early season form, scoring only one goal in the six remaining games of the season in which he played.


Shrewsbury Town

Following his release from Tranmere, Akpa Akpro signed a one-year contract 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 ...
in League Two on 2 July 2014. He made his Shrewsbury debut away at
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 9 August, and scored his first goal for the club ten days later, converting a penalty in a 4–0 rout of
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...
at
New Meadow New Meadow, also known as The Croud Meadow for sponsorship purposes, is a stadium situated on the southern outskirts of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, between the districts of Meole Brace and Sutton Farm, and close to the A5. It serves the home grou ...
. His next goals for the club came in a career first hat-trick, against former loan club Bury in a 5–0 home win on 21 October. On 29 November, he scored a late winner against
Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...
for Shrewsbury's 12th victory in 14 home games, as well as handing
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink ( ; born 27 March 1972) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Born in Suriname, he and his family would later move to the Dutch city of Zaandam where he first played football, initially a ...
his first defeat as Burton manager. Akpa Akpro scored the decisive goal in a 1–0 away win at
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...
as Shrewsbury secured promotion to League One on 25 April 2015. With the club close to the Financial Fair Play limit and unable to move on fringe players, chairman Roland Wycherley agreed to fund a one-year contract extension, which was signed in time for the player to be available for selection for the opening league match of the following season against
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
. He scored his first goals of the season – a brace in a 2–0 win against
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
– to secure a first home victory of the campaign on 26 September. He ended the 2015–16 campaign with seven in total, including important late goals in the season run-in against
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 ...
,
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 ...
and Gillingham, as Shrewsbury finished in 20th place, four points above the relegation zone. In May 2016, the club announced Akpa Akpro was to be released at the end of his contract.


Barnet

Akpa Akpro signed for Barnet on 1 July 2016. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...
on 13 August 2016. On 31 January 2017, Akpa Akpro joined Yeovil Town on loan until the end of the season. He was released at the end of the 2017–18 season. In total, he played 57 times for the Bees, scoring 5 goals.


Later career

Akpa Akpro joined Masfout in 2019. He scored three goals in eleven games in the Emirati second tier. Akpa Akpro returned to England with
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 ...
in November 2019, signing a short term deal. The club announced in January that he would leave the club on the expiry of his deal. He joined Radcliffe in March 2020. He scored on his debut against
Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...
on 3 March 2020. In June 2022 he joined
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
Flint Town United Flint Town United Football Club is a football club based in Flint, Flintshire, Wales who play in the . Nicknamed "the Silkmen", they play their home games at Cae-y-Castell also known as the 'Essity Stadium' following their sponsorship deal. " ...
. He made his league debut for the club on 13 August. In August 2024, Akpa Akpro joined
North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a association football, football league in the North West England, North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, ...
Premier Division side Glossop North End on a dual-registration basis with Wythenshawe Town.


Personal life

Akpa Akpro is of Ivorian descent and has two brothers who play football. Jean-Daniel who is an
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
international and Jean-Jacques.


Career statistics


Honours

Shrewsbury Town *
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 ...
runner-up: 2014–15


References


External links

*
Grimsby Town profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akpa Akpro, Jean-Louis 1985 births Living people Footballers from Toulouse French men's footballers Men's association football forwards Toulouse FC players Stade Brestois 29 players R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Bury F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Masfout Club players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Flint Town United F.C. players Glossop North End A.F.C. players Wythenshawe Town F.C. players Ligue 1 players English Football League players UAE First Division League players Northern Premier League players Cymru Premier players Cymru North players North West Counties Football League players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates French sportspeople of Ivorian descent Black French sportspeople 21st-century French sportsmen