Patrick "Diba" Nwegbo (born January 1, 2002) is a Nigerian-American

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for the USL Championship club Birmingham Legion.

Career

Youth & College

Nwegbo was born in the Acworth, Georgia to Nigerian parents. He attended

North Cobb High School North Cobb High School is a public high school located north of Atlanta in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States. It serves approximately 2900 students in the Cobb County School District, with classes from grades 9 to 12. The school mascot is the ...

, where he was named to the Region 3-AAAAA Team of the Year in 2018 after scoring 21 goals and tallying six assists, making him the top goal scorer in the region. He also played club soccer with Smyrna Soccer Club between 2017 and 2018, then Alabama FC in 2018 to 2019. Nwegbo was invited to 2018 ECNL National Training Camp as well as with receiving a call up to the

Nigeria national under-17 football team The Nigeria national U-17 football team known as the Golden Eaglets, is the youngest team that represents Nigeria in football The team is the most successful in international football for their age group winning a record, five FIFA U-17 World C ...

. In 2019, Nwegbo attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

to play

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

. In four seasons with the Tribe, Nwegbo made 57 appearances, scoring nine goals and adding 17 assists. In 2021, he was named Second Team All-CAA and Second Team VaSID All-State. While at college, Nwegbo competed in the

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

. He spent 2021 with Southern Soccer Academy Kings, and 2022 with Vermont Green, where he scored nine goals in 12 appearances. Following college, Nwegbo entered the

2023 MLS SuperDraft The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but will retain the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted ...

, but went undrafted.

Birmingham Legion

On March 9, 2023, Nwegbo signed with USL Championship side Birmingham Legion. He made his professional debut on March 11, 2023, starting in a 1–1 draw with Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwegbo, Diba 2002 births Living people American soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Men's association football forwards Birmingham Legion FC players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Nigerian expatriate footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Nigerian footballers Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) USL Championship players USL League Two players William & Mary Tribe men's soccer players