Zayn Mohammed Junayd Hakeem (born 15 February 1999) is a

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 for

Barwell Barwell is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, with a population of 8,750 residents in 2001, increasing to 9,022 at the 2011 census. The name "Barwell" literally translates as "Stream of the Boar" and is said to originate from ...

, where he 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) ** Smal ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Antigua and Barbuda national team.

Early life

Hakeem attended

The Martin High School, Anstey The Martin High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the village of Anstey, Leicestershire, on the outskirts of Leicester. The school accepts students from nearby Beaumont Leys, Glenfield, Thurcaston a ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

starting in 2012.

Playing career

Mansfield Town

Hakeem began his career with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

and made his professional debut on 7 May 2016 in a 0–0 draw against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

. In August 2017, Hakeem joined

Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was esta ...

on loan for one month. In September 2018, Hakeem joined

Basford United Basford United Football Club is a football club based in Basford, a suburb of Nottingham, England. They are currently members of the and play at Greenwich Avenue. History Basford United was formed in 1900 at the Old Pear Tree Inn.

on a one-month loan deal. He scored on his debut for the club 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 ...

against Staveley Miners Welfare. He joined Southern League Premier Central side Coalville Town on loan on 13 October 2018, on a deal that ran until 1 January 2019. He was released by Mansfield at the end of the 2018–19 season.

Bradford (Park Avenue)

Zayn signed for

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

side

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

on 30 July 2019.

Barwell

Hakeem joined Southern League Premier Division Central side

for the 2019–20 season in September 2019. He made his Southern League Premier Division Central debut on 28 September 2019 coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Tolani Omotola, in a 3–1 away defeat at

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club that was based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. It withdrew from Southern League Premier Division Central on 18 January 2024 due to financial problems and faces liquidation. In 1889, Nuneaton S ...

. Zayn scored his first Southern League Premier Division Central goal for

on 21 December 2019, in an away fixture against Peterborough Sports, again coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Tolani Omotola, Hakeem scored the equaliser on the 73rd minute to make it 4–4, only for Dan Lawlor to score an 80th-minute winner for Peterborough Sports.

Coleshill Town

Zayn signed for Southern League Division One Central side Coleshill Town on 23 January 2020. He made his Southern League Division One Central debut the following day in a home fixture against Aylesbury United, it wasn't one to remember with his new team succumbing to a 6–0 home defeat.

Northern Premier League

In July 2021, he signed for

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 ...

Division One East side

Worksop Town Worksop Town Football Club is an English football club based in Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The team play in the . They are nicknamed ''The Tigers'' and play their home games at Sandy Lane in Worksop. History Previous clubs The club claims it w ...

, following a curtailed season at

Anstey Nomads Anstey Nomads Football Club is a football club based in Anstey, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Cropston Road. History The club was established in 1946 by a merger of Anstey Methodists and St Mary's unde ...

in the previous campaign in the

United Counties League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an England, English association football, football league covering an area including the English Counties of the United Kingdom, ...

. In October 2021, he was on the move again to divisional rivals Stamford. He returned to Anstey Nomads in January 2022, as he had found his game time limited at Stamford. Hakeem made the move back to the NPL, signing for Shepshed Dynamo at the beginning of the 2022–23 season. In May 2023, Hakeem signed for

. He joined Long Eaton United on an initial three-month loan deal in August 2023. He returned to Shepshed Dynamo on a permanent basis in December 2023.

International career

Hakeem has represented Antigua and Barbuda U-20s. He scored twice against Bermuda in the

2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship qualifying The qualifying competitions for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship were handled by two regional of CONCACAF's bodies; the Caribbean Football Union (Caribbean zone) and the Central American Football Union (Central American zone). Representative tea ...

tournament. He has also represented the Antigua and Barbuda nation men's team making 3 appearances. The 3 performances were against Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico and Montserrat.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakeem, Zayn 1999 births Footballers from Leicester Living people Antigua and Barbuda men's footballers Antigua and Barbuda men's international footballers Antigua and Barbuda men's under-20 international footballers English men's footballers English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Sportspeople of Antigua and Barbuda descent English Football League players Southern Football League players Northern Premier League players Mansfield Town F.C. players Matlock Town F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players Basford United F.C. players Coalville Town F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Barwell F.C. players Coleshill Town F.C. players Worksop Town F.C. players Stamford A.F.C. players Anstey Nomads F.C. players Long Eaton United F.C. players Men's association football forwards 21st-century English sportsmen