Caleb Colman Folan (born 26 October 1982) is a former 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 le ...

who played as a striker. Born in England, he represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

in international football, qualifying through grandparents on his maternal side from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Club career

Early career

Born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, Folan started his career at hometown club

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, spending brief spells on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

before making a permanent move to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in February 2003. In April 2006 he underwent a cartilage operation on a recurring knee injury. In October, he scored the winning goal against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in Chesterfield's

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

victory, after which he signed a one-year contract extension.

Wigan Athletic

After a series of impressive performances for Chesterfield, Folan was linked with a January transfer to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

, and on 26 January 2007 he completed a £500,000 transfer, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal. Wigan

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Paul Jewell Paul Jewell (born 28 September 1964) is an English football manager and former player, who was most recently director of football at Swindon Town. Jewell began his playing career with Liverpool, continued at Wigan Athletic and concluded in a t ...

stated: "He's strong, he's aggressive, he's got a finisher's instinct and I think he will add competition in an area where the squad needs bolstering." He made his debut for Wigan against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 30 January 2007, and on 21 February, scored his first goal for the club, an equaliser against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. On 3 March he scored the winner against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

away at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...

in a 1–0 victory.

Hull City

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

team

revealed their interest in signing him in August 2007. However, Wigan manager

Chris Hutchings Christopher Hutchings (born 5 July 1957) is an English former footballer and manager. He played for a number of clubs including Chelsea and played more than 100 games for Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town. He has managed in the Premie ...

said he was not looking to transfer Folan. On 31 August Folan eventually did return to Hull on a three-year contract for a fee of £1 million, which broke the record highest fee paid by the club. After signing, he insisted he was not going to let the price tag pile pressure onto him and that he had arrived at the club to score goals. On his debut for Hull in a 2–1 defeat against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in September, Folan was taken to hospital after being stretchered off the pitch wearing a neck brace. He was kept overnight at Victoria Hospital in

. An ankle injury caused him to miss several more matches, and in March 2008 he incurred a three-match ban after being sent off in a game against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. He returned to score several goals from the bench during Hull City's successful run-in. On the first day of the Premier League season, Hull played their first ever game in that league against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, and Folan came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory for Hull. He was sent off against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 25 April 2009 for kicking out at

Martin Škrtel Martin Škrtel (born 15 December 1984) is a Slovak former professional footballer, a former player and captain of the Slovakia national team and Liverpool Football Club. Škrtel previously played for FK AS Trenčín and Zenit Saint Petersburg, ...

. On 17 September 2009, Folan was loaned for three months to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

of the Championship, and he made his debut as a substitute in a 5–0 defeat to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. Just nine days later Folan suffered a torn hamstring. After Hull manager Phil Brown criticised Folan on his appearances for Hull during the 2009–10 season, Folan hit back by saying Brown's comments were "laughable and childish". However, upon Folan's return to Hull, Brown offered him a "clean slate".

Colorado Rapids

After a lengthy negotiation with Hull City, Folan was able to complete a transfer to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

on 16 March 2011. He made his MLS debut on 26 March in a 1–0 victory over

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

, and scored his first goals in Major League Soccer on 3 April in a 4–1 win over

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

. Folan scored six goals during the 2011 season before moving on prior to the 2012 preseason. The Rapids announced on 3 February 2012 that the club had parted ways with Folan by mutual consent.

Birmingham City

After a trial, Folan signed for

club

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

on 29 February until the end of the season. Folan suffered a setback during his training program at

picking up a nerve injury, which eventually would go on to rule him out of playing football for the good part of a year. As a result, he was unable to appear for the blues and was never included in the 16-man matchday squad, Folan was released when his contract expired.

T-Team

On 1 December 2012, after a lengthy period sidelined due to a previous injury, Folan announced on his official Twitter page that he had joined T-Team in the

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...

and it was confirmed shortly after. Folan scored in the team's first pre-season game against

outfit

ATM FA Armed Forces Football Club, commonly known as Armed Forces, enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the Malaysian Armed Forces. The club's home stadium is the Mindef Stadium. The club currently plays in the 3rd division of ...

and again on his home debut in a 2–2 draw against close rivals

Terengganu FA Terengganu Football Club is a professional football club based in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia, that competes in Malaysia Super League, the first division of Malaysian football league system. Nicknamed "The Turtles", the club was founded ...

. But, on 27 March 2013, after struggling to find his previous form, Folan left the club by mutual consent after failing to score in 10 appearances.

Bradford City

On 28 September 2013, after training with

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

, Folan signed a three-month contract with the club. He made his debut on 5 October, in a 2–0 win against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

. Folan left Bradford City on 26 December 2013. In March 2014 Folan turned down an offer to play for the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Canadian based outfit

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

in pursuit to return and play his football in Asia.

Kanbawza FC

Folan spent the 2015 season with

Kanbawza FC Shan United Football Club ( my, ရှမ်းယူနိုက်တက် အသင်း, ) is a professional Burmese football club based in Taunggyi, Myanmar, representing Shan State in the Myanmar National League. It had previously compete ...

of the

Myanmar National League The MPT Myanmar National League ( my, မြန်မာ နေရှင်နယ် လိဂ်; abbreviated MNL) is the premier national professional football league of Myanmar. In 2009, the league replaced the Myanmar Premier League, which co ...

; he scored 13 goals from 17 league appearances.

International career

Through his grandfather, who was from Inis Mór, and his grandmother, from

, Folan is eligible to play for the

. In March 2007, manager

Steve Staunton Stephen Staunton (born 19 January 1969) is an Irish football manager, scout and former professional footballer. He played as a defender (association football), defender with two separate spells each with Premier League sides Aston Villa F.C., A ...

called on the 'granny rule' to bring Folan into his squad for the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifying campaign, after a passport was issued at the 11th hour. The decision attracted comment for overlooking other in-form strikers playing outside the

and with closer ties to the Republic of Ireland. However, Folan was forced to pull out of the squad due to injury. A hamstring tear also forced Folan out of the Republic's squad for games against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in May 2007. In October 2008, under new manager

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

, Folan was one of several uncapped players selected to play for a Republic of Ireland XI in a challenge match against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, scoring the first goal in a 2–0 win. He was added to the squad for the subsequent

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifier against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and appeared as an injury-time substitute. He was brought on as a substitute against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the World Cup qualifiers, and set up the equalising goal scored by

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional Association football, football coach and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. Keane served as Captain (association football ...

in the 87th minute.

Honours

Hull City *

Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Folan, Caleb 1982 births Living people Footballers from Leeds English footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Association football forwards Leeds United F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Colorado Rapids players Birmingham City F.C. players Terengganu F.C. II players Bradford City A.F.C. players Kanbawza F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Major League Soccer players English people of Irish descent Black British sportspeople Black Irish sportspeople English expatriate sportspeople in Myanmar Expatriate soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in Myanmar English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate footballers