Yusupha Njie (born 1 March 1994) is a Gambian 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 ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Qatari club Al-Markhiya and the Gambia national team. He is the son of

Biri Biri Alhaji Momodo Njie (30 March 1948 – 19 July 2020), also known as Biri Biri, was a Gambian footballer who played as a right winger. He most notably played for Sevilla FC in Spain and Herfølge Boldklub in Denmark. He was also a Gambian interna ...

, who was widely regarded as the greatest Gambian footballer of all time.

Early years

Born in

Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...

, Njie began his youth career at local club Wealers FC before switching to

Cherno Samba Cherno Samba (born 10 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at every youth level up to the under-20 team, having moved to England at an early age. He earned full caps for Gambia between ...

's academy in 2004. In 2007, he was scouted for the national under-15 team; he traveled with them to compete in a cup competition in Norway. Two years later, he underwent a two-week trial with Norwegian club

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...

, where his half-brother Tijan Jaiteh was playing at the time. Although he impressed team officials, he was not able to return at their request because of obligations with the national under-17 team, including the

2011 African U-17 Championship qualification The 2011 African U-17 Championship qualification was a men's under-17 football competition which decided the participating teams of the 2011 African U-17 Championship. Preliminary round The first leg matches were played on either the 9th, 10th o ...

tournament. He also traveled to Spain for two weeks in 2010 for a trial at his father's former club,

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

Club career

Njie joined first division Gambian side

Real de Banjul Real de Banjul Football Club is a Gambian professional association football club based in Banjul. The team compete in the GFA League First Division, the top flight of Gambian football league system. Real de Banjul is the most successful club in ...

in 2011 and spent the following two seasons with them, leading them to a league title in 2012. Their win earned them a spot in the

2013 CAF Champions League The 2013 CAF Champions League (also known as the 2013 Orange CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 49th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 17th ed ...

, where he was instrumental in their 2–1 second-leg victory over Moroccan club

FUS Rabat Fath Union Sport ( ar, اتحاد الفتح الرياضي), commonly called FUS or FUS Rabat, is a Moroccan professional football club based in Rabat and currently playing in the first division. The club was founded on 10 April 1946. 'Fath ...

in the

preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. Although they got eliminated on aggregate goals, his play attracted the attention of Rabat manager

Jamal Sellami Jamal Sellami ( ar, جمال السلامي) (born 6 October 1970) is a Moroccan professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the coach of the Moroccan club FUS Rabat. He played for several clubs, including O ...

, who, four months later, signed Njie to a four-year contract after a successful trial with the club. After winning the

Moroccan Cup The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league cha ...

with Rabat in 2014, Njie led them to their first-ever league title in 2015–16. That year, he was voted as Rabat's best player and drew further attention from European clubs. He also scored his second and third career CAF Confederation Cup goals that year, but Rabat eventually lost to Algerian club

MO Béjaïa Mouloudia Olympique de Béjaïa ( ar, مولودية بجاية), referred to commonly as MO Béjaïa or MOB for short, is a professional Algerian football club based in Béjaïa, Algeria. The club was founded in 1954 and its colours are green ...

in the semi-finals. Njie scored the game-winning goal in the second leg of a play-off round match-up against Moroccan rivals

MAS Fez Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * Más (Breaking Bad), "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Songs * Más ( ...

during 2017 CAF Confederation Cup qualification. After a 2–1 victory in the first match, Njie scored the second goal in a 1–1 draw to ensure a 3–2 aggregate win, sending them to the group stage. In the first group stage match, Rabat defeated the Ugandan domestic champions, KCCA, by a score of 3–0. Njie contributed with a goal and an assist. In July 2017, Njie joined Portuguese club

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista (), is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (thus the "FC" being appended – the British way as oppos ...

on a one-year loan, with a buying option in January. He later joined Boavista permanently. In July 2018, it was reported that Njie had signed with French club

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1910 and plays in Ligue 1, the top level of Football in France, having been promoted from Ligue 2 in 2018. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Aug ...

, although the deal was cancelled the following day due to failed medical tests. On 9 June 2023, Qatari side Al-Markhiya announced the signing of Njie on a two-year deal, after his contract with Boavista had expired.

International career

Njie made his senior national debut with

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

on 11 June 2017 in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, coming on for

Hamza Barry Hamza Barry (born 15 October 1994), commonly known simply as Hamza, is a Gambian professional footballer playing as a midfielder for Danish Superliga side Vejle Boldklub. Club career Valletta After playing for native side Gambia Ports Author ...

during a 1–0 defeat to

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

. He played in the

2021 Africa cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's fo ...

, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.

Personal life

In addition to being Biri Biri's son, he is the half-brother of Gambian international footballer Tijan Jaiteh.

Honours

Real de Banjul *

GFA League First Division The GFA League First Division is the highest division of football in The Gambia. The league began play in 1965. 2021—22 season clubs Previous champions *1965–66 : Augustinians (Bathurst) *1966–67 : Augustinians (Bathurst) *1967–68 ...

: 2012 * Gambian Super Cup: 2012 FUS Rabat *

Botola The Botola Pro ( ar, البطولة الاحترافية, translit=al-buṭūla l-iḥtirāfiyya), is a Moroccan professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Moroccan football league system, it is the country's prima ...

: 2015–16 *

Coupe du Trône The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league cha ...

: 2014; runners-up 2015

References

External links

* *
Yusupha Njie
at Eurosport {{DEFAULTSORT:Njie, Yusupha 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Banjul Gambian men's footballers The Gambia men's international footballers The Gambia men's youth international footballers Gambian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards Real de Banjul FC players Fath Union Sport players Boavista F.C. players Al-Markhiya SC players Botola players Primeira Liga players Qatar Stars League players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Gambian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Morocco Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar