Efe Ambrose facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Efe Eric Ambrose | ||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 18 October 1988 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||
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Current team
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Workington | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Kaduna United | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Kaduna United | 89 | (7) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Bayelsa United (loan) | 24 | (4) | ||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Ashdod | 67 | (3) | ||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Celtic | 113 | (5) | ||||||||||
| 2017 | → Hibernian (loan) | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Hibernian | 59 | (2) | ||||||||||
| 2019 | Derby County | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Livingston | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | St Johnstone | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2022 | → Dunfermline Athletic (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Greenock Morton | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Queen of the South | 26 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2024 | Bury | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||
| 2024– | Workington | 30 | (2) | ||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||
| 2007 | Nigeria U20 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2008 | Nigeria U23 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||
| 2008–2016 | Nigeria | 51 | (4) | ||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:15, 28 April 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||
Efe Eric Ambrose (born 18 October 1988) is a professional footballer from Nigeria. He plays as a defender for the English club Workington. Efe has played for many teams, including Kaduna United and Bayelsa United in Nigeria. He also played for Ashdod in Israel. In Scotland, he played for famous clubs like Celtic and Hibernian. He also had spells at Livingston, St Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, and Greenock Morton. In England, he played for Derby County and Bury.
Ambrose has also proudly represented his country, Nigeria. He played for the Nigeria national football team in big tournaments. These include the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the Summer Olympics, the Africa Cup of Nations, and the FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Efe Ambrose's Club Journey
Starting His Football Career
Efe Ambrose began his professional football journey in 2006. He started playing for Kaduna United in Nigeria. Two years later, he went on loan to Bayelsa United. He helped Kaduna United get promoted, which means they moved up to a higher league.
Playing in Israel with FC Ashdod
In June 2010, Ambrose moved to Israel to play. He joined Israeli Premier League club FC Ashdod. He played there for two years before moving on in 2012.
Time at Celtic Football Club
Ambrose joined Scottish Premier League club Celtic in 2012. He signed a three-year contract with the team. He quickly felt at home in Glasgow, thanks to his new teammates. Efe even watched British football games to learn more about the style of play.
He made his first appearance for Celtic on 22 September 2012. It was a 2–0 win against Dundee. His first full game was against Raith Rovers, which Celtic won 4–1. Ambrose scored his first goal for Celtic on 20 October 2012. He celebrated with an amazing quadruple somersault!
Efe also played in the Champions League for Celtic. He played the whole game in a 3–2 win against Spartak Moscow. A big moment was when Celtic beat Barcelona 2–1. Ambrose said it was the perfect way to celebrate Celtic's 125th anniversary.
Celtic reached the knock-out stages of the Champions League. They played against the Italian team Juventus. Ambrose had just won the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria. He played in the final just three days before the Juventus match. He faced some challenges in the game. However, he quickly bounced back. He scored in the next league game, helping Celtic win 6–2 against Dundee United. He scored again three days later against St Johnstone.
Ambrose stayed at Celtic until 2017. He helped the club win the Scottish Premiership four times. He also won the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.
Moving to Hibernian
On 28 February 2017, Ambrose joined Hibernian on loan. He scored his first goal for Hibs on 25 March. It was in a 2–1 win against Falkirk. He even won the player of the month award for March 2017.
After his loan, Ambrose signed a two-year contract with Hibernian. He played for them until January 2019.
Playing for Derby County
In February 2019, Ambrose joined EFL Championship club Derby County. He signed a short-term contract with them. He left the club at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Time at Livingston
After a few months without a club, Ambrose signed for Livingston in February 2020. He played for them until May 2021.
St Johnstone and Dunfermline
In September 2021, Ambrose joined Scottish Premiership team St Johnstone. In February 2022, he went on loan to Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic.
Greenock Morton and Queen of the South
Ambrose signed with Greenock Morton in October 2022. He made a great debut and was named man of the match. He also scored one goal for the club. In July 2023, he joined Queen of the South.
Bury and Workington
In June 2024, Ambrose joined Bury. However, he left the club in August 2024. The long commute from Scotland was too difficult for him and his family. On 26 August 2024, Ambrose joined Workington.
Efe Ambrose's International Career
Ambrose has had a fantastic international career playing for Nigeria.
Youth Teams
He was part of the Nigeria national under-20 football team at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. Later, he played for the Nigeria national under-23 football team in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Senior National Team
Efe was called up to Nigeria's main team for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. He played in five of Nigeria's six games, including the final. Nigeria won the tournament! Ambrose was even named in the "Team of the Tournament." He said winning the Africa Cup of Nations was one of the greatest moments of his life.
He also played for Nigeria in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played regularly for Hibernian in 2017–18. However, he was not chosen for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. Some people, like former Nigeria manager Samson Siasia, thought his experience would have been very helpful.
How Efe Ambrose Plays
Efe Ambrose is a versatile player. This means he can play in different positions. He often plays as a defensive midfielder for Nigeria. He can also play as a centre-back or a right-back. He is known for being calm when he has the ball. When he scores a goal, he often celebrates with a cool somersault!
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ashdod | 2010–11 | Israeli Premier League | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | Israeli Premier League | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 40 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Israeli Premier League | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 67 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 83 | 5 | |||
| Celtic | 2012–13 | Scottish Premier League | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2014–15 | Scottish Premiership | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 113 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 168 | 6 | ||
| Hibernian (loan) | 2016–17 | Scottish Championship | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Hibernian | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 45 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 29 | 2 | |
| Total | 59 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 74 | 5 | ||
| Derby County | 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Livingston | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| St Johnstone | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 274 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 42 | 3 | 368 | 17 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | — | ||
| 2010 | — | ||
| 2011 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 4 | |
International Goals
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 13 October 2012 | U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Nigeria |  Liberia |
1–0 | 6–1 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 6 September 2014 | U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Nigeria |  Congo |
1–0 | 2–3 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3. | 11 October 2015 | Edmond Machtens Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Cameroon |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4. | 17 November 2015 | Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria |  Swaziland |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
Efe Ambrose has won many awards and championships throughout his career:
With Bayelsa
- Nigerian Premier League: 2008–09
With Kaduna United
- Nigerian FA Cup: 2010
With Celtic
- Scottish Premiership: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
- Scottish Cup: 2012–13
- Scottish League Cup: 2014–15
With Hibernian
- Scottish Championship: 2016–17
With Nigeria National Team
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2013
Individual Awards
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Week: (Week 3, 2012–13)
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2013
Special Recognition
Member of the Order of the Niger (a special honor in Nigeria)
See also
In Spanish: Efe Ambrose para niños
