Cole Desmond Kpekawa (born 20 May 1996) is an English 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 plays as a defender for

Oxford City Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

Club career

Queens Park Rangers

Born in

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 ...

, Kpekawa came through the Academy at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. He signed a two-year scholarship with the club in July 2012 at the age of 16. On 2 April 2014, he signed his first professional contract on a one-year deal. Kpekawa joined

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

side

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

for an initial one-month loan deal on 20 November 2014. He made his professional debut against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

at the

Colchester Community Stadium Colchester Community Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as the JobServe Community Stadium, is a football stadium in Colchester, England. It is the home of Colchester United Football Club. It has a capacity of 10,105 and opened in August 200 ...

in a 1–0 League One defeat on 22 November. After making four appearances for Colchester, his loan was extended for a further month until 24 January 2015. He made six appearances for Colchester, four in League One and two in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. On 19 March 2015, he was loaned to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

until the end of the season. He made his debut on 21 March in a 1–0 defeat against

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

where he played the full 90-minutes. He was recalled from his loan at Portsmouth by QPR on 20 April having made two first-team appearances. On returning to QPR, Kpekawa made his debut for the club as an 85th-minute substitute for

Yun Suk-young Yun Suk-young (Hangul: 윤석영; ; born 13 February 1990) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a left-back for Gangwon FC in the K League 1. Club career Jeonnam Dragons Yun made his debut for Jeonnam Dragons in 2009 and went on to make ...

in a 5–1

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 ...

defeat to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

on 24 May 2015. On 19 November 2015, he joined League Two side

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in an initial one-month loan deal. He made his debut two days later on 21 November as an early substitute in a 3–2 league win against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

. His loan was extended in December 2015, and again in January 2016 to remain with the O's until 1 March 2016. He was recalled from his loan by parent club QPR on 1 February 2016 after making nine appearances for Orient.

Barnsley

After struggling to hold down a first-team place at Queens Park Rangers,

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 ...

rivals

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

signed Kpekawa for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £450,000, on 31 August 2016. He agreed a three-year contract with the club. He made his Barnsley debut on 10 September 2016 as a late substitute in their 2–1 win at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. However, after only four starts, Kpekawa found himself out of the first-team picture as

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 Heckingbottom Paul Heckingbottom (born 17 July 1977) is an English football coach and former player who is currently manager of Championship side Sheffield United. Heckingbottom played as a defender for several English clubs, including Sunderland, Scarboro ...

preferred to play right-back

Andy Yiadom Andrew Kyere Yiadom (born 2 December 1991) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a right back or right midfielder for club Reading F.C., Reading. Born in England, he plays the Ghana national football team, Ghana nation ...

out of position at left-back, while the club coaches worked with Kpekawa to suit a more central role.

Colchester United

Having made only seven league appearances for Barnsley, Kpekawa made a permanent return to his former loan club

on 17 July 2017. He signed an initial one-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his second Colchester United debut on 5 August as a substitute in their 3–1 defeat at

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

. After failing to establish himself in Colchester's first-team and having not made an appearance since January 2018, Kpekawa left the club by mutual consent on 13 April 2018.

St Mirren

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Kpekawa had signed a two-year deal with St Mirren after a successful trial period with the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

side. Kpekawa made his debut for the club on the same day, starting in a 0–0 draw with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. After failing to break into the first team at Saints, he was released by mutual consent in January 2019.

AS Trenčín

On 20 August 2019, Kpekawa joined

Fortuna Liga The Slovak Super Liga is the top level football league in Slovakia, currently known as the Fortuna Liga due to a sponsorship arrangement. It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is eleven, ...

side

AS Trenčín AS Trenčín () is a Slovakia, Slovak sports club in the town of Trenčín, most known for its association football, football department. The first team currently plays in the Slovak Super Liga, Fortuna Liga after winning the 2010–11 Slovak Fi ...

on a multi-year contract following a spell with

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

. Kpekawa made his Fortuna Liga debut against

Zemplín Michalovce Zemplín or Zemplén can refer to: * Zemplín (region), a region in Slovakia * Zemplín (village), a village in Slovakia * Zemplén County Zemplén ( hu, Zemplén, sk, Zemplín, german: Semplin, Semmlin, la, Zemplinum) was an administrative cou ...

on 14 September 1019. In his debut match, Kpekawa was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in the 9th minute of the match, after he broke a leg of 18 year old

Matej Trusa Matej Trusa (born 29 November 2000) is a Slovak professional footballer who currently plays for Dunajská Streda as a forward. Club career MFK Zemplín Michalovce Trusa made his Fortuna Liga debut for Zemplín Michalovce against iClinic Sere� ...

. Later that day, Trusa was diagnosed with a double fracture of his right leg. It was expected to take approximately 12 months until he recovers. Trusa, however, managed to return in 6 months. On 20 September 2019, Kpekawa was suspended for six months by the disciplinary committee of

Slovak Football Association The Slovak Football Association ( sk, Slovenský futbalový zväz, SFZ) is the governing body of football in Slovakia based in Bratislava. It has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Slovakia and is the body t ...

for his foul on Trusa.

Non-League

On 30 October 2020, Kpekawa signed for

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

club

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members o ...

. On 2 June 2021, Chelmsford announced fellow National League South side

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pla ...

had signed Kpekawa. On 27 May 2022, Kpekawa joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. They are currently members of and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously ...

. He was released at the end of the season. He joined

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

for the 2023-24 season. In November 2023, he joined

on loan. In February 2024, he was loaned to

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

until the end of the season. Following Bromley's promotion, Kpekawa departed the club at the end of the 2023–24 season. In July 2024, Kpekawa returned to National League North side Oxford City on a permanent deal following a loan spell with the club the previous season.

International career

Kpekawa was born in England and is of Sierra Leone descent. On 3 September 2015, following an injury to

Kean Bryan Kean Shay Bryan (born 1 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Career Manchester City Bryan began his career at Manchester City at the age of 11, and went on to captain th ...

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 ...

, Kpekawa was called up to the England under-20 squad for their match against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Two days later he made his international debut as the Czech Republic were defeated 5–0. He featured for the full 90-minutes. He was again called up to the under-20 squad for the

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

Elite Cup in Germany, where England would play the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He started in England's 2–1 win against Turkey and featured as a substitute in their 1–0 defeat by Germany as England ended the competition as runners-up.

Style of play

Kpekawa primarily plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

but can also operate as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

manager

described him as "tall, quick, strong, with a good left foot".

Career statistics

References

External links

*
England profile
at

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kpekawa, Cole 1996 births Living people Footballers from Blackpool English men's footballers English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent Black British sportsmen Men's association football defenders Men's association football fullbacks England men's youth international footballers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players AS Trenčín players Chelmsford City F.C. players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players Maidenhead United F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Slovak First Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players National League (English football) players Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia English expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia English expatriate men's footballers