Olutobi Adebayo-Rowling (born 16 November 1996) 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 side

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 ...

Career

Peterborough United

Signed on a youth contract in 2012 by

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

but was released 12 months later. He then signed a youth contract with Eastbourne Borough. Spotted by a Peterborough United scout, he then transferred as a youth to Peterborough United, before signing professional contract terms with the club in March 2015. In March 2015, Adebayo-Rowling signed a two-year professional contract for Peterborough United from the Peterborough United youth academy, where he would work with first team coach Dave Robertson, the former boss of the Brighton youth team. A month later, Adebayo-Rowling was initially given a number 31 shirt when he appeared as an unused substitute on 3 April 2015, in a 2–0 loss 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 ...

. Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Adebayo-Rowling was given a number 19 shirt, having switched from 31 shirt. On 8 August 2015, he made his first team debut, playing the entire game in a 2–0 away defeat against

for the club's first game of the 2015-2016 League One season. He continued to hold his place in the right-back position, appearing four times throughout August. However, after Robertson's sacking, he soon lost his first team place following the arrival of Manager

Graham Westley Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English professional football manager and former professional footballer. Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curtailed due to injury whilst playing for ...

and never played again after that, although he appeared once as an unused substitute in November 2015. In February 2016, it was announced that his contract was ended by mutual consent.

Sligo Rovers

Shortly after his release by Peterborough United, Adebayo-Rowling moved to Ireland when he joined

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 ...

side

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 ...

on 1 February 2016. Adebayo-Rowling made his Sligo Rovers debut, starting the whole game in the right-back position, in a 2–0 loss against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in the opening game of the season. He was then named in the League of Ireland Team of the Week on Matchday 13 following a 1–0 win over

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

. Adebayo-Rowling's performances resulted him in signing a contract extension for another season. He was also named League of Ireland Team of the Week on Matchday 30 following his performance, in a 3–0 win over

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

on 8 October 2016. Despite missing one game, due to suspension, Adebayo-Rowling went on to make a total of 32 appearances in all competitions, where he quickly established himself in the first team, playing at right-back. At the end of the 2016 season, Adebayo-Rowling was voted the club's Young Player of the Year. Ahead of the 2017 season, Adebayo-Rowling spent two weeks training on his return to England at

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 ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

but no deal materialised. Despite this, Adebayo-Rowling continued to be a regular in the first team at Sligo Rovers and started every match He also struggled to recapture the sort of form from the previous season. After returning from suspension, Adebayo-Rowling managed to regain his first team place, although he suffered setbacks later in the season. Adebayo-Rowling went on to make 28 appearances in all competitions in the 2017 season.

Cork City

On 7 November 2017, Adebayo-Rowling signed for

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

Bromley

In June 2018, Adebayo-Rowling returned to England to sign for

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

side

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Ebbsfleet United

On 24 July 2020, Adebayo-Rowling signed for

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

side

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 defeat to Maidstone United on 23 November 2021.

Notts County

On 30 May 2022, Adebayo-Rowling signed for National League club

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on a two-year contract having turned down offers from several EFL clubs.

Rochdale

On 4 June 2024, Adebayo-Rowling signed a one-year contract with

. On 7 March 2025, Adebayo-Rowling signed a one-year contract extension until summer 2026.

Personal life

His uncle is

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

presenter

Dotun Adebayo Oludotun Davey Moore "Dotun" Adebayo (born 25 August 1959) is a British radio presenter, writer, and publisher. He is best known for his work on ''Up All Night (radio show), Up All Night'' on BBC Radio 5 Live, as well as the former obituary pr ...

, who is the brother of Tobi's father Adebayo-Rowling attended Longhill High School in

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

, just outside

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. He appeared on the 5Live's World Football Phone-in in 2023, discussing the history of the game alongside

and Tim Vickery.

Career statistics

Honours

Notts County * National League play-offs:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adebayo-Rowling, Tobi 1996 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Eastbourne Borough F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players National League (English football) players English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Footballers from the London Borough of Camden People from Camden Town 21st-century English sportsmen