Emmanuel Ekpo (born 20 December 1987) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

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 ...

Career

Professional

Ekpo spent his early years in the youth system of

Calabar Rovers Calabar Rovers FC are a Nigeria soccer team based in Calabar. They play their games at U. J. Esuene Stadium. History The club was founded in 1977. They were one of the original members of the Nigerian Second Division which was established in 19 ...

, before going on to play professionally for

Akwa United Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home stadium. ...

and

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and ...

in the

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

. Ekpo signed a contract with

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

on 15 April 2008, and scored an impressive first goal for the Crew on 28 June 2008, in a game against

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 ...

. He went on to be an invaluable part of the Crew team which won the 2008 MLS Cup, the 2008 MLS Supporters Shield, and the 2009 Supporters shield repeat, featuring in over 80 games in all competitions in his first three seasons with the club. In December 2011 Ekpo became a free agent when he did not re-sign with the Crew. In February 2012 he signed with

Molde Molde () is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Peninsula, surrounding the Fannefjord and Moldefjord. The administrative centre of the m ...

of Norway, managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on a three-year contract through 2014. After two and a half seasons with Molde, Ekpo moved to

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

in July 2014, leaving Haugesund after the 2014 season when his contract expired. In October 2016, Ekpo joined

Eastern Suburbs AFC Eastern Suburbs Association Football Club is a professional Association football club based in the suburb of Kohimarama in Auckland, New Zealand. The club competes in the Northern League. Club history Eastern Suburbs was formed in 1934 as a r ...

in New Zealand.

International

Ekpo participated in

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

qualifying in 2007, took part in CAF Olympic qualifying in 2008, and won a silver medal for participating in the Nigerian national team's games during the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing. He was a second-half substitute in all six of Nigeria's games. On 6 September 2011, Ekpo received his first cap with the senior team. He played 20 minutes in a 3–1 loss to Argentina in a friendly.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

;Columbus Crew *

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 ...

MLS Cup:

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; ...

Supporter's Shield:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

;Molde *

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekpo, Emmanuel 1987 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Columbus Crew players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Akwa United F.C. players Olympic footballers for Nigeria Calabar Rovers F.C. players Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria Enyimba F.C. players Olympic medalists in football Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players Molde FK players Eliteserien players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Men's association football midfielders