Richard Offiong (born 17 December 1983) is an English

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 striker.

Career

Newcastle United

Offiong started his career with

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 ...

as a youth but never made a

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

appearance for the club. During his time at Newcastle, Offiong was capped by England at under-20 level and loaned out three times. His first loan out was at

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in November 2002 on a two-month loan. Darlington decided not to extend his loan spell for a third month in February. He scored four goals in nine league appearances for the club. He was then sent out on loan to

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

in January 2003 for the rest of the 2002–03 season, where he made nine appearances from the substitutes bench. He joined

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 ...

on a month's loan in March 2004 and made four appearances.

Overseas ventures and Doncaster Rovers

Offiong left Newcastle at the end of the season and during 2004 to 2005 had some brief positions abroad in places like

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, and Belgium. But finally Offiong returned home joined the

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

on a free transfer, but was limited to only 5 appearances at the club and subsequently left at the end of the season.

Hamilton Academical

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

accepted him in 2006 with a contract to keep him at the club until May 2009. He was named player of the month for August 2007. He did well, and netted his first senior hat-trick when Hamilton ran out 3–0 winners at New Douglas Park against

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

on 9 February 2008. This was also his fifth goal in three games against the former

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

. Hamilton Academical secured promotion to the

at the end of a hard-fought season. He made his Scottish Premier League debut in a 3–1 victory against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

and scored his first SPL goal with the winner in a 1–0 win against

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, Inverness CT or just Inverness, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team competes in , the third tier of the Scottish Professional Footba ...

. He signed a new contract with Hamilton in December that would expire at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Carlisle United

Despite bids from

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 ...

and

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

side

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club () is a Greek Association football, football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. They play their home matches at Skoda Xanthi Arena Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth set ...

, Offiong joined the

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 ...

team

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on 25 August 2009 for £75,000 which would rise to £90,000 if Carlisle achieved promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

. Offiong's first goal was on 26 January 2010, against

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in a League game, which Carlisle won 3–2, with Offiong making a last-gasp winner in the 91st minute.

Östersunds FK

On 30 March 2010, Offiong joined Swedish third-tier team

Östersunds FK Östersunds Fotbollsklubb, commonly known simply as Östersunds FK, Östersund () or (especially locally) ÖFK, is a Swedish professional Association football, football club located in Östersund, Sweden, that plays in the Swedish second tier, S ...

in a 15-week loan deal, which lasted until 18 July 2010. He teamed up with Ostersunds FK's former

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

player-coach Lee Makel, but his term was cut short by injury after only seven weeks. One day prior to the

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 ...

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 ...

season commencing, Offiong joined Darlington on loan for the second time in his career on an initial one-month deal. After his loan spell at Darlington, Offiong picked up a thigh injury which ruled him out of action for three weeks. Offiong left Carlisle by mutual consent on 4 January 2011.

Gateshead

Offiong joined Conference club

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

on 4 March, signing a contract until the end of the season. Making his debut the following day in a 1–1 draw with

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

Moss Lane Moss Lane is a multi-purpose stadium in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It is currently used primarily for football matches and is the home ground of Altrincham. The stadium also hosts games for Manchester United's under 17s side, and ...

. He scored his first goal for Gateshead on 22 March 2011 against

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 ...

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 ...

. He was released by Gateshead at the end of the season.

Oakleigh Cannons

In May 2011, Offiong signed for the Australian side

Oakleigh Cannons Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb Oakleigh. As of 2025, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria). History South Oakleigh Soccer Club was establ ...

. He made his debut on 29 May 2011 as a 60th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win against

Springvale White Eagles Springvale White Eagles Football Club is a semi-professional Australian association football, soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria currently playing in the Victorian Premier League, Victorian Premier League 2. Founded by Serbian Australians, ...

. His first goal for Oakleigh came 10 days later in a 2–3 loss against VTC Football.

Blyth Spartans

On 29 September 2011, Blyth Spartans announced that they had signed the 'jet heeled' striker, following a spell in Australia, hoping that International Clearance would be received in time to face Bedlington Terriers at Croft Park on the following Saturday in the FA Cup. Offiong made his debut for Blyth on 15 October 2011 in a 2–1 win over

Whitby Town Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Founded in 1880, Whitby are one of the oldest clubs from the Nor ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Fourth Qualifying Round. On 13 November 2011, it was announced however that Offiong had left the club after just a month at Blyth.

Johor FA

Offiong moved to the Malaysian team

Johor FA Johor Darul Ta'zim Football Club II (; ) or simply JDT II is a feeder club for Johor Darul Ta'zim. The club set to play in Malaysia A1 Semi-Pro League from 2025–26, the second tier of the Malaysian football league system. Club's names * ...

at the beginning of 2012, but had to retire shortly after, due to injury.

Durham City

In January 2014, two years after retiring, Offiong returned to football signing for Durham City. He left the club in 2015 to sign for Boldon Community Association in the

Wearside League The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 of the National League System (levels 11 to 13 of the Football pyramid) and is a feeder to the ...

.Ex-Newcastle striker Richard Offiong set for Wearside League debut in derby
The Shields Gazette, 31 July 2015

Honours

Scottish Football League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

title winner: 2007–08

Career statistics

:A. The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

K-League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League titles, the top conti ...

, Swedish Division 1,

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

and

Victorian Premier League The Victorian Premier League (VPL) is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 2023 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of two divisions that were named after the VPL's breakaway of the National Premier L ...

. :B. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

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 ...

and

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Offiong, Richard 1983 births Living people Footballers from South Shields English men's footballers English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent English expatriate men's footballers Black British sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Men's association football forwards England men's youth international footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players York City F.C. players İstanbulspor footballers Jeonnam Dragons players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Östersunds FK players Gateshead F.C. players Oakleigh Cannons FC players Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Johor Darul Ta'zim II F.C. players Durham City A.F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Süper Lig players K League 1 players Challenger Pro League players Scottish Football League players National League (English football) players 21st-century English sportsmen