Ojimi Gabriel "O.J." Obatola (born October 24, 1987, in

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

) is a Nigerian

professional footballer Association football is the world's most popular sport and is worth US$600 billion worldwide. By the end of the 20th century it was played by over 250 million players in over 200 countries. Around the world, the sport is played at a professi ...

who plays as a forward. He currently is a free agent.

Career

Obatola began his career with

Gombak United Gombak United Football Club was a professional football club which competed in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was based in Bukit Gombak. During the early years of the S. League, Gombak United played their ho ...

in the Singaporean

S-League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

in 2006, and spent the next five years with the club, making over 100 appearances. He helped Gombak win the Singapore League Cup 2008, and he was named S-League Young Player of the Year in 2009 On April 7, 2010, Obatola signed the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

of the USSF D-2 Pro League, having impressed the team's coaches during a trial period during which he scored the winning goal in a friendly game against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, making him a fan favorite. However, after starting six of the first seven games of the 2010 season and scoring just one goal, Obatola did not feature in the next four matches and was released from his contract by mutual consent on June 10, 2010. He signed for Pattaya United of Thailand in February 2011 and scored his first goal for the team with a header in his first start on April 16, 2011. In January 2013 Obatola signed for Salgaocar until

2012-13 I-League 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season. Obatola last debut played in Sisaket after completing his contract brought him to continue his trade in the United States with recently American Soccer League expansion team in Maryland. The Former Sisaket FC Forward, Gabriel Obatola decided to continue his career with

SGFC Eagles Maryland SGFC Eagles Maryland was a professional soccer club based in Maryland. The club competed in the American Soccer League during the league's third and final season in 2017. The team was originally called the Super Green Football Club when it was f ...

. On 2 January 2017 it was announced that Obatola has successfully signed and is currently playing with Maryland-based professional soccer team SGFC Eagles for 2017 Season which features in the American Soccer League. The American Soccer League (ASL) is seeking provisional D-3 in USSF pyramid. The league that provides American soccer players with professional playing opportunities as well as career network path into the major soccer leagues around the world. The SGFC Eagles Maryland has won all the championships as well as State Cup that qualifies them to feature in Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2013 in the northeast of America before being drafted by the American Professional Soccer league.

Honors

Gombak United

Singapore League Cup The Singapore League Cup was an annual soccer competition in Singapore. It was launched in 2007, and was open to teams who play in the S.League. The 2007 competition was sponsored by SingTel, and officially titled the SingTel League Cup. Eight of ...

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; ...

Individual

S. League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

Young Player of the Year:

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 ...

* S. League People's Choice Award: 2009

References

External links

S.League Old Boys: Gabriel Obatola, the one who gave up Europe for a shot at Singapore citizenship

1987 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Gombak United FC players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore Singapore Premier League players Men's association football forwards Yoruba sportspeople Footballers from Lagos {{Nigeria-footy-forward-stub