Eyad Omar Hammoud (; bg, Ияд Омар Хамуд; born 24 July 2001) is a former 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 played 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 ...

. Born in Lebanon to a Lebanese father and a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

mother, Hammoud moved to Bulgaria at a young age and obtained

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

; he represented

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

at youth level between 2016 and 2019, before switching allegiance to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Club career

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Hammoud made his professional debut for

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...

on 20 November 2016, in the local derby against

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...

. At age of 15 years, 3 months and 26 days he became the second-youngest player to play in

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

. Lokomotiv won the match 2–0, with Hammoud assisting the first goal.

Sheffield Wednesday

In the beginning of 2017, Hammoud trialled with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

, returning to Lokomotiv with and option to sign with the team in the summer. On 27 June 2017, he signed a two-year contract with the club, joining the under-18 team until gaining a work permit. Hammoud trialed with

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 ...

in April 2019, but returned to Sheffield until he was released by the club on 8 May.

Ansar

On 6 August 2019, Hammoud signed for

Lebanese Premier League The Lebanese First Division ( ar, الدوري اللبناني الدرجة الأولى), commonly known as the Lebanese Premier League (), is the top division of the Lebanese football league system. There are 12 teams competing in the league, ...

side Ansar on a five-year deal.

International career

On 23 May 2017, Hammoud played for Bulgaria U16 in the 1–1 draw against Cyprus U16. He was also called up for the U18 team in March 2019 to play two friendly games against Ukraine U18. In August 2019 Hammoud switched allegiance to Lebanon, representing his native country's under-19 team in two friendly games against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

Style of play

center forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

with good technical skills, Hammoud is a fast player, both on and off the ball, with good vision and positioning in the field. Hammoud's link up play with his team mates, as well as his eye for goal, are vital in his teams' attacking plays.

Personal life

Hammoud was born in

Majdal Anjar Majdal Anjar ( ar, مجدل عنجر; also transliterated Majdel Anjar) is a village of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. Majdal Anjar is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim town. History In 1838, Eli Smith noted ''Mejdel 'Anjar '' as a Sunni Muslim ...

, Lebanon. His father, Omar, is Lebanese and his mother, Maria, is

from

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a popu ...

. He moved with his family to

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, Bulgaria, in 2009 at the age of eight. He holds dual citizenship, Lebanese and

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Sheffield Wednesday * U18 Professional Development League Division 2: 2018–19 * U18 Professional Development League Division 2 North: 2018–19 Individual *

Debut of the Year: 2016

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammoud, Eyad Living people 2001 births People from Zahle District Lebanese men's footballers Bulgarian men's footballers Lebanese people of Bulgarian descent Bulgarian people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Men's association football forwards PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Al Ansar FC players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Lebanon men's youth international footballers Lebanese expatriate men's footballers Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in England Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England