Joshua Kofi Acheampong (born 5 May 2006) is an English 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 club Chelsea. He has represented
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
as a youth international at multiple levels.
Early life
Born in London, Acheampong is of Ghanaian descent. He first joined the Chelsea academy as an Under-8.
Club career
On 3 January 2024, Acheampong signed his first professional contract with Chelsea. On 11 March 2024, Acheampong was named in the Chelsea first team squad 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 ...
match against
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
but remained an unused substitute On 2 May 2024, three days before his 18th birthday, Acheampong made his professional debut, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute of a 2–0 Chelsea victory at
Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to:
* Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England
** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
* Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge
* Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
in the Premier League.
Following a period of time away from the first team due to problems regarding the extension his contract, he made his full debut against
FC Astana
Astana Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seat As ...
on 12 December 2024 in the
UEFA Conference League
The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...
. On 18 December, Chelsea announced that they have reached an agreement to extend Acheampong's contract to June 2029. On 4 January 2025, Acheampong made his first
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 ...
start against London rivals
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
, with the match ending 1–1 wherein the Chelsea head coach
Enzo Maresca
Enzo Maresca (born 10 February 1980) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach of Premier League club Chelsea.
After starting out at West Bromwich Albion in 1998, he went on to play for several clubs in ...
hailed him as the best player on the pitch.
International career
In May 2023, Acheampong was a member of the England under-17 squad that finished fifth at the
2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
The 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship (also known as UEFA Under-17 Euro 2023) was the 20th UEFA European Under-17 Championship (39th edition if the Under-16 era is also included), the annual international youth football championship organise ...
. In November 2023 he was selected to represent England at the
2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the 19th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth association football, football tournament contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was hel ...
and scored a goal in their opening game against
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
.
On 4 September 2024, Acheampong made his England U19 debut against
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in
Nedelišće
Nedelišće (; Kajkavian language, Kajkavian: ''Nedelišče'') is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-w ...
.
On 10 October, Acheampong made his
U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to:
Naval vessels
*
* , a sloop of the Royal Navy
* , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy
Other uses
* Great truncated cuboctahedron
* Meizu U20, a smartphone
* Roland U-20, a synthesizer
* Small nucleolar RNA S ...
debut during a 2–1 win over Italy in
Frosinone
Frosinone (; local dialect: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lazio, administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is about southeast of Rome, close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of th ...
.
Career statistics
Honours
Chelsea
*
UEFA Conference League
The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...
:
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...