Ebrima "Ebou" Adams (born 15 January 1996) is a 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 ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an 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 central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for EFL Championship club Cardiff City and the Gambia national team. He began his career at Conference National club Dartford, before gaining regular football and attracting interest from Football League clubs while on loan at Walton Casuals. Adams joined Norwich City in February 2016, and had loan spells at

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 ...

side Braintree Town and EFL League One club

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. In November 2017, Adams was called up to represent the Gambian national team. The English-born midfielder qualified through his parents and made his debut against Morocco B.

Early life

Adams was born in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

and attended

The John Roan School The John Roan School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Greenwich, south-east London, England. History Grammar schools The current school was originally two grammar schools. The boys' school was founded in 1677 and t ...

. After playing his youth football at Sutcliffe Rangers Fc, he joined Dartford's youth ranks at the age of 15. He moved up to the Dartford Academy in August 2012.

Club career

Dartford

On 26 April 2014, Adams made his Dartford debut with a 29-minute appearance in a 3–1 defeat to Nuneaton Town. Following his loan at Walton Casuals, he became a regular in the first team set-up and made 16 appearances during the 2015–16 season prior to his departure.

Walton Casuals (loan)

On 14 September 2014, he joined Isthmian Division One South club Walton Casuals on loan alongside Dartford teammates Kieran Scantlebury and Bode Anidugbe. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–4 defeat to Whitstable Town the following month.Brooker, Kane (28 August 2015). "A complete statistical database of Walton Casuals FC (1992–2016)". Retrieved 12 July 2016 Adams also scored in a 2–0 victory at home to Chipstead in March 2015.

Norwich City

On 1 February 2016, Adams joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

on an 18-month contract for an undisclosed fee, becoming Dartford's record sale. He immediately joined up with the Under-23s and made his youth team debut in a 7–0 defeat to a Manchester United team including

Sergio Romero Sergio Germán Romero (; born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors. He has also played for the Argentina national team. Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentin ...

, Phil Jones and

Memphis Depay Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known simply as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. Memphis began his professional career with PSV Ein ...

. Adams faced a tough start to life in the professional game with subsequent

Premier League 2 The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...

appearances against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, Manchester City and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. He finished the season with nine Premier League 2 appearances and one assist. Adams scored his first goal for the club in November 2016, completing a 4–1 win over

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. ...

in the EFL Trophy. On 6 March 2017, he scored his first goal of the

campaign with the winning strike in a 2–1 victory at Newcastle United.

Braintree Town (loan)

In December 2016, Adams moved to

club Braintree Town on a one-month youth loan. On 17 December, he made his debut from the bench in a 1–1 draw at Gateshead. Completing a full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win at

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

three days later, Adams was dismissed in the 73rd minute of a 3–2 win over Dagenham & Redbridge. A three-game suspension meant he was unable to feature again during his loan.

Shrewsbury Town (loan)

On 26 June 2017, he 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

on a six-month loan. After being named as an unused substitute on the opening day of the season, Adams' debut – a 2–1 EFL Cup exit 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 ...

– proved to be his only defeat with the club. He made his league debut shortly after with an eight-minute appearance from the bench in a 1–0 victory at AFC Wimbledon. He made a further four league appearances all from the bench, although three came in injury time. Adams recorded just 20 minutes of league action during his time with the club, with his final league appearance coming in a 1–1 draw with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

on 23 September. Adams also made two appearances in the EFL Trophy, assisting

Louis Dodds Louis Bartholomew Dodds (born 8 October 1986) is an English footballer who plays for side Hanley Town. He can play either as a midfielder or as a striker. After many years at the Leicester City Academy, he turned professional at the club in ...

for the final goal in a 3–0 victory over West Bromwich Albion U23s on 3 October. The match proved to be his final appearance for the club. In his eight appearances for the club, Adams was involved in a single loss – a 2–1 EFL Cup exit against

on his debut. On 8 January 2018, Adams returned to parent club

Leyton Orient (loan)

On 9 January 2018, he joined

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 profession ...

on loan for the remainder of the season.

Ebbsfleet United

On 1 June 2018, Adams joined

side

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

Forest Green Rovers

On 18 June 2019, Adams moved 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 ...

club

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

on a two-year deal.

Cardiff City

On 13 May 2022, it was announced Adams would join

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 ...

club Cardiff City on a three-year deal on 1 July.

International career

Born in England to Gambian parents, Adams debuted for the Gambia national team in November 2017 against Morocco B. He played in the

2021 Africa cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's foo ...

, his national team's first continental tournament, where they made a sensational quarter-final.

Career statistics

Honours

Forest Green Rovers *

: 2021–22 Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2021–22 League Two

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Ebou 1996 births Living people People with acquired Gambian citizenship English people of Gambian descent Gambian footballers English footballers Men's association football midfielders The Gambia men's international footballers 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players Dartford F.C. players Walton Casuals F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Black British sportsmen Footballers from Greenwich