Adedapo Paul Oluwaseun Awokoya-Mebude (born 29 July 2001) is a Scottish 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 striker for Belgian club

KV Oostende Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende () or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders in Belgium. The team was founded in 1904 as ''VG Oostende'' and has the matricule No. 31. History In 1911, an ...

Early life

Mebude was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, growing up in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

, and is of Nigerian descent. His family moved to Scotland when he was around 10 years old, and he joined the Rangers youth system after attending an open Soccer Schools event organised by the club.Dapo Mebude reveals the dangling Rangers carrot he turned down as Watford star talks up Ibrox exit call
Scott McDermott, 3 October 2021 He was later a participant in the SFA's ''Performance School'' programme at

Holyrood Secondary School ("By this conquer!") , established = 1936 , closed = , type = Comprehensive , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_name = , head ...

, and also attended Rangers' youth partnership school

Boclair Academy Boclair Academy, a co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in the Greater Glasgow suburb of Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, serves pupils aged 11 to 18 from Southern Bearsden, Westerton and Torrance. Boclair Academy ...

Club career

Mebude turned professional with Rangers in May 2017. Mebude signed a new contract with the club in December 2018, keeping him at Ibrox until 2021. In February 2019 he was recalled from international duty with the Scotland under-19s to join up with the Rangers first team, due to injury problems. Mebude debuted for the first-team on 19 May 2019, in a 2–1 away defeat versus

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 league. On 21 January 2021, Mebude joined

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland Scotland (, ...

club Queen of the South on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first professional goal, in a 4–2 league win at

Gayfield Park Gayfield Park, commonly known as Gayfield, is a football stadium in Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League team Arbroath F.C. The club have played at Gayfield since 1880, although the pitch has ...

versus

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

on 6 March 2021. In June 2021, Mebude ran out his contract with Rangers to become a free agent. A month later in July, he was signed by

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 a two-year contract with the option of a further two-years. He suffered a back injury at the end of July 2021, and was hospitalised. He moved on loan to

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 ...

in August 2021.Dapo: It was the 'perfect' option to sign for the Dons
AFC Wimbledon, 4 August 2021 He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in a 3–3 draw against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

on 14 August 2021. In September 2022 he signed for Belgian club

. Mebude trained with

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

in July 2024.

International career

Mebude has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 youth levels, and made his first under-21 appearance in October 2021 against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Style of play

In November 2018, he was described by the '' Daily Record'' as a "diminutive striker" who was "highly-rated within Ibrox" and that he was "known for his quick pace as well as his obvious finishing ability and is a handful for defenders with his trickery". In a September 2019 interview, Mebude stated "When I play as a winger I try and be direct and score goals like

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team. Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...

who is fast, direct and a similar build to me."

Personal life

In February 2021 Mebude was one of five Rangers players fined by Scottish police "for attending an illegal gathering of ten people in a flat" in breach of lockdown rules during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

. Mebude was hospitalised in January 2024 following a car crash. His younger brother

Dire Dire may refer to: Places *Diré, a town located in the Tombouctou Region of Mali *Diré Cercle, an administrative subdivision of the Tombouctou Region of Mali, whose administrative center (in French, ''chef-lieu'') is the mentioned town of Diré ...

is also a footballer, who plays for Championship club

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

, on loan from fellow Belgian side

KVC Westerlo Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo (; often simply called Westerlo) is a Belgium, Belgian professional Association football, football club located in the municipality of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. Since Belgian First ...

, and Scotland U21.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mebude, Dapo 2001 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark English men's footballers Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Rangers F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Watford F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players People educated at Holyrood Secondary School Black British sportsmen Scottish people of Nigerian descent English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Scotland men's under-21 international footballers K.V. Oostende players Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Belgian Pro League players People from Peckham