Alemayo Kebede (born 10 April 1987) is an

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

n footballer who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Adelaide Blue Eagles The Azzurri Sports Club is home to the Adelaide Blue Eagles (ABE), a soccer club based at the Marden Sports Complex, South Australia. It has formerly been known as Napoli Sports Club, Eastern Districts, Eastern Districts Napoli Sports Club, and ...

in the

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state-based ...

Club career

In 2011, he signed with

FFSA Super League The FFSA Super League was the highest state-level soccer competition in South Australia between 2006 and 2012. Prior to the 2006 season, the highest level competition in South Australia was the SASF Premier League. Due to the manifestation of a n ...

club

Croydon Kings Croydon FC, formerly known as Croydon Kings, is an Australian semi-professional soccer club in Adelaide, South Australia. Croydon FC currently competes in the National Premier Leagues South Australia. They play home games at Polonia Reserve at C ...

after being granted political asylum by the Australian government. Following the 2012 Super League season it was announced he had won the Sergio Melta Medal which is awarded to the best player in the league.

International career

Kebede played in the

2009 CECAFA Cup The 2009 Orange CECAFA Senior Challenge tournament was the 33rd edition of the CECAFA Cup football tournament that involves teams from East and Central Africa. The 2009 edition was hosted in Kenya. Participants * * * * * * * * * * *Invited as gu ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, appearing in at least one match against

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

Personal life

Whilst competing in the

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

he was part of the

Eritrea national football team The Eritrea national football team ( ti, ጋንታ ኩዕሶ እግሪ አርትራ) represents Eritrea in men's international football and it is controlled by the Eritrean National Football Federation (ENFF). It is nicknamed the ''Red Sea Boys ...

which failed to return home after competing in the regional tournament in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. After receiving political asylum from the Australian government, the team moved to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Honors

* 2012 Sergio Melta Medal (

Player of the Year)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kebede, Alemayo 1987 births Living people Eritrean footballers Eritrea international footballers Association football midfielders Red Sea FC players Croydon Kings players Adelaide Raiders SC players Western Strikers SC players Adelaide Blue Eagles players Adelaide Olympic FC players FFSA Super League players National Premier Leagues players Eritrean expatriate footballers Eritrean expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate soccer players in Australia Eritrean refugees Sportspeople from Asmara Eritrean Premier League players