Samuel Udoka Oji (9 October 1985 – 28 August 2021) was 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 played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. Oji played 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 ...

for

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 ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

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. ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

, and in the Swedish

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

for

Ljungskile SK Ljungskile SK is a Swedish football club located in Ljungskile, a town within Uddevalla Municipality. They currently play in the Swedish third tier, Division 1. History Ljungskile SK, formed in 1926, is famous for their promotions between 199 ...

, before knee injuries kept him out of football for two years. He resumed his career with Tamworth of the

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 ...

. He then played in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

for

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and

Galway United Galway United Football Club () is an Irish professional football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Premier Division following promotion from the First Division in 2023. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the ...

and in

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

and

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

. Oji joined Highgate United in 2018, and was appointed assistant manager of that club in July 2021.

Life and career

Oji was born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London. He was a cousin of R&B/soul singer

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known mononymously as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the Fame Academy (series 1), first series of British talent show ''Fame Acade ...

. He began his football career as a youth player at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Birmingham City

Oji signed a full-time contract with

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

for the start of the 2004–05 season. In 2005–06 he spent six weeks

on loan In sports, a loan involves a particular player being able to temporarily play for a club other than the one to which they are currently contracted. Loan deals may last from a few weeks to a full season, sometimes persisting for multiple seasons ...

, for whom he made his debut 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 ...

as a 75th-minute substitute for Ricky Ravenhill in a 1–0 away loss against Gillingham on 6 December. On 7 February 2006 he made his only first-team appearance for Birmingham, in an

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 round replay at home to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. He came on as a last-minute substitute for

Stephen Clemence Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is an English Association football, football coach and former player, who made nearly 250 appearances in the Premier League and English Football League, Football League playing as a midfielder and was r ...

in a 2–1 win. A year later he joined

on a month's loan, later extended to two months. In the summer of 2007 he had a trial with

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, then in August signed for

on a month's loan, later extended to three months.

Leyton Orient

With six months remaining on his contract, Oji left Birmingham by mutual consent on 8 January 2008 and joined Leyton Orient until the end of the 2007–08 season. He was released by Orient at the end of the season.

Hereford United

Oji signed for

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 ...

club

on 7 August 2008. After five games for the club he suffered a knee injury which kept him out of training for four months; he never regained his first-team place and at the end of his short-term contract, in February 2009, he was released.

Ljungskile SK

In March 2009 Oji joined

of the

(Swedish second division) after a successful trial. He played only six league games for Ljungskile before leaving in June. In August, Oji had a trial 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 ...

, but cruciate ligament injuries suffered while on trials with Turkish

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 ...

side Diyarbakirspor and with Leyton Orient kept him out of football for two years.

Tamworth

In December 2011, Oji signed for

club Tamworth. He made his debut as a second-half substitute in the first match of 2012, a 2–2 draw at home to

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

. He was sent off for two bookable offences in a league 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 ...

on 4 February 2012.

League of Ireland

Oji signed for

club

on 26 August 2013, and made his debut for the club in a 2–0 away defeat to

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional association football, football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in ...

. In February 2015, he moved to

in the same league.

Return to England

signed Oji ahead of the opening fixture of the 2016–17 National League North season. The following summer he moved to

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Premier Division club

. He made 41 appearances over the season, of which 38 were in league competition, before signing for Highgate United of the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

Premier Division in July 2018. Oji was appointed assistant to Simon Johnson, new manager of Highgate United, on 20 July 2021.

Death

Oji died on 28 August 2021 at the age of 35; a day earlier, Highgate United had stated that he was "extremely ill". He was married and had two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oji, Sam 1985 births 2021 deaths Footballers from the City of Westminster People from Westminster Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Ljungskile SK players Tamworth F.C. players Limerick F.C. players Galway United F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Hednesford Town F.C. players Highgate United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Superettan players League of Ireland players Northern Premier League players Midland Football League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland English expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 21st-century English sportsmen