Adebayo Akinfenwa facts for kids
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Akinfenwa in training with AFC Wimbledon in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa | ||
| Date of birth | 10 May 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Islington, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2001 | Watford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2002 | FK Atlantas | 22 | (5) |
| 2002 | Laisvė Šilutė | 0 | (0) |
| 2002 | Barry Town | 9 | (6) |
| 2003 | Boston United | 3 | (0) |
| 2003 | Leyton Orient | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Rushden & Diamonds | 0 | (0) |
| 2004 | Doncaster Rovers | 9 | (4) |
| 2004–2005 | Torquay United | 37 | (14) |
| 2005–2007 | Swansea City | 59 | (14) |
| 2007–2008 | Millwall | 7 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Northampton Town | 88 | (37) |
| 2010–2011 | Gillingham | 44 | (11) |
| 2011–2013 | Northampton Town | 80 | (34) |
| 2013–2014 | Gillingham | 34 | (10) |
| 2014–2016 | AFC Wimbledon | 83 | (19) |
| 2016–2022 | Wycombe Wanderers | 219 | (52) |
| 2023 | Faversham Town | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 697 | (206) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa (born on May 10, 1982) is a former English professional footballer. He played as a striker. People often called him "The Beast" because he was incredibly strong and scored many goals. During his career, he scored over 200 goals.
Akinfenwa started his professional journey at Doncaster Rovers. Before that, he played in lower English leagues and also spent time in Lithuania and Wales. After a successful period at Doncaster, he joined Torquay United. He was a great goal scorer there. Later, he moved to Swansea City for two seasons. He then played for League One team Millwall and later Northampton Town. Akinfenwa spent six years playing for Northampton and Gillingham, always showing his skill at scoring goals. In 2014, he joined League Two side AFC Wimbledon. Two years later, he moved to Wycombe Wanderers, where he played until he retired in 2022. His last professional game was at Wembley Stadium in the League One play-off final on May 21, 2022.
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Adebayo Akinfenwa's Early Life
Akinfenwa was born in Islington, North London. His family comes from the Yoruba people in Nigeria. His father is Muslim, and his mother is Christian. When he was a child, he supported Liverpool football club. His favorite player was John Barnes.
Akinfenwa's Football Career Journey
Starting Out: Early Career Adventures
As a teenager, Akinfenwa joined a Lithuanian club called FK Atlantas. He scored the winning goal in the 2001 Lithuanian Football Cup final. He also played in the UEFA Cup qualifying games for two years. He faced some difficult experiences from fans in the country. After two years there, and a short time at another Lithuanian team, he returned to the UK in 2003.
He then joined Welsh Premier League champions Barry Town. Akinfenwa helped Barry win the Welsh Cup and the Welsh Premier League. However, the club soon faced money problems and let go of its professional players. Akinfenwa quickly joined Boston United in October 2003. He scored a winning goal in his first game. He then moved to Leyton Orient and later Rushden & Diamonds. In February 2004, he joined Doncaster Rovers, which was his fifth club that season.
Playing for Torquay United
In July 2004, Akinfenwa signed with Torquay United. He scored 14 league goals during the 2004–05 season. Fans voted him their Player of the Season. However, he could not stop the club from being moved down to League Two. He decided not to sign a new contract with Torquay.
Time at Swansea City
In July 2005, Akinfenwa moved to Swansea City. He scored in his first game against Tranmere Rovers. This was also the first goal scored at Swansea's new Liberty Stadium. He scored the winning goal in the 2006 Football League Trophy Final, helping Swansea beat Carlisle United 2–1. He also helped Swansea reach the League One promotion play-off final in his first season. They drew 2–2, but Swansea lost in a penalty shoot-out. He was a regular player the next season until a broken leg ended his season early.
Moving to Millwall
At the end of the 2006–07 season, he did not sign a new contract with Swansea. He tried to join Swindon Town but failed a medical check.
After getting better and training, he joined League One team Millwall in November 2007. He played seven games but did not score any goals.
Adventures with Northampton Town
On January 18, 2008, Akinfenwa signed with Northampton Town. He made his first appearance against Swindon Town, coming off the bench to score a late goal in a 1–1 draw. He did the same in his first home game, scoring a goal in a 1–1 draw against Leeds United. In his next home match, he scored two goals in a 4–0 win against Gillingham. He scored three more goals that season.
On May 30, 2008, Akinfenwa signed a new one-year contract with Northampton. He started the 2008–09 season well, scoring twice in three games by the end of September. He left Northampton in May 2010 after they could not agree on a new contract.
Playing for Gillingham
On July 29, 2010, he signed a one-year contract with Gillingham. He scored in his first game with a header against Cheltenham Town. At Gillingham, Akinfenwa and Cody McDonald formed a strong team. Together, they scored 36 goals that season.
Back to Northampton Town
Gillingham offered Akinfenwa a new contract, but he chose to return to Sixfields on May 25, 2011. He scored his first goal back with Northampton against Bristol Rovers on August 16. On November 10, 2012, in a game against Accrington Stanley, Akinfenwa scored his first and only professional hat-trick. Years later, when Northampton was having money problems, Akinfenwa sold the shirt he wore in that game to help the club's supporters.
Northampton Town let him go at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Another Stint at Gillingham
Akinfenwa rejoined Gillingham on a free transfer on July 2, 2013. He once again teamed up well with Cody McDonald, scoring 10 goals during the 2013–14 season. He finished third in the Supporters Player of the Year awards. Akinfenwa left the club when his one-year contract ended.
Time with AFC Wimbledon
On June 20, 2014, he signed with League Two side AFC Wimbledon. They had wanted him for over a year. In an FA Cup game on January 5, 2015, AFC Wimbledon played against Liverpool, the club Akinfenwa supports. He scored a goal to tie the game, but Wimbledon still lost 1–2. On June 8, 2015, Akinfenwa extended his contract with Wimbledon, even though other clubs were interested. On May 30, 2016, after scoring a penalty in a 2–0 win against Plymouth Argyle in the League Two Play-off Final, Akinfenwa's contract ended. He famously joked on TV, "I think I'm technically unemployed, so any managers hit me up on the WhatsApp and get me a job."
Joining Wycombe Wanderers
After leaving AFC Wimbledon, Akinfenwa signed for Wycombe Wanderers. In April 2018, he was nominated for the EFL League Two Player of the Season award. On February 29, 2020, he scored against Doncaster Rovers, becoming Wycombe's top goal scorer in the English Football League with 54 goals. On July 13, 2020, Akinfenwa and Wycombe won the 2020 League One play-off final against Oxford. This win promoted them to the Championship for the first time in both his career and the club's history. Akinfenwa finished that season as the club's joint-top league goal scorer with 10 goals.
On July 8, 2021, Akinfenwa signed a new one-year contract with the club. He said it would be his last season in professional football. He mentioned he was thinking about acting or professional wrestling after football. Akinfenwa's last game for Wycombe was the 2022 EFL League One play-off final. He came on as a substitute but could not prevent a 2–0 loss to Sunderland.
Life After Professional Football
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In March 2022, Akinfenwa was planning to make his professional wrestling debut but pulled out at the last minute.
On July 11, 2022, Akinfenwa played in a friendly game for Isthmian League North Division team Hashtag United. He played the first half but did not join the team full-time due to his schedule and possible injury concerns.
In March 2023, Akinfenwa came out of retirement and joined Faversham Town in the Isthmian League. He played his first game for them on March 11, 2023. On March 25, 2023, in his home debut for Faversham, Akinfenwa had a penalty saved in the last minute of the game.
Akinfenwa's Personal Life
Akinfenwa is a Christian. He is a good friend of Clarke Carlisle, who was his teammate at Northampton Town.
Akinfenwa has been known as the strongest footballer in the world in different versions of the FIFA video game series. In September 2014, he was invited to the launch party for FIFA 15 with many famous people and Premier League players. Akinfenwa reportedly weighs around 100 kilograms (16 st; 220 lb) and can lift 180 kilograms (28 st; 400 lb) on a bench press.
He has his own clothing brand called Beast Mode On, which is inspired by his strong reputation. His autobiography, The Beast: My Story, was published in 2017.
Akinfenwa's Career Achievements
FK Atlantas
- Lithuanian Football Cup: 2000–01
Barry Town
- Welsh Premier League: 2002–03
- Welsh Cup: 2002–03
Swansea City
- Football League Trophy: 2005–06
AFC Wimbledon
- Football League Two play-offs: 2016
Wycombe Wanderers
- EFL League One play-offs: 2020
Individual Awards
- Sir Tom Finney Award: 2023
- EFL League Two Player of the Month: November 2012
- EFL Team of the Season: 2017–18
- PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18 League Two
- Torquay United Player of the Year: 2004–05
- Northampton Town Player of the Year: 2009–10
- AFC Wimbledon Player of the Year: 2014–15
- Wycombe Wanderers Player of the Season: 2016–17, 2017–18
See also
In Spanish: Adebayo Akinfenwa para niños
