Ibrahim Bakare (born 7 May 2002) is an English footballer who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, right-back or defensive midfielder for club Cheltenham Town.

Early life

Bakare began playing youth football in his hometown of London with Mass Elite Academy. In the summer of 2018, he joined the youth system of

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

, following trials with Chelsea,

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and Luton Town.

Club career

In July 2019, he signed a first team professional contract with

in the

EFL 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 ...

, after previously being part of the club's academy. He was given the contract after having attracted interest from a number of clubs such as

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, Watford, Leeds United and West Brom. In December 2019, he was loaned to

Lancaster City Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footb ...

in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Premier Division. In October 2020, he departed Morecambe, with his contract being terminated but the club retaining a sell-on clause, after he had gone on numerous trials with other clubs (with Morecambe's permission). In March 2021, he signed with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, joining their Under-23 side on a contract until June 2022. He spent a year with the U23s, regularly captaining the side. In September 2022, he joined Weymouth in the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. He made his debut on 13 September against Bath City. However, by 24 September, he had departed the club. In October 2022, he signed with

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

in the National League North. He made his debut for the club on 11 October in a Northamptonshire Senior Cup match against Daventry Town and then made his league debut on 15 October against Spennymoor Town. On 2 December 2022, he signed with

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

in the Northern Premier League Division One West. He scored on his debut on 3 December against Colne. On 15 December, he departed the club. In January 2023, he signed with Cheshunt in the

. He made an appearance for the club in a friendly against Watford U21. In March 2023, he signed with Canadian Premier League club Vancouver FC. On 7 May 2023 (his 21st birthday), he earned Man of the Match honours in Vancouver's first ever home match and was subsequently named to the CPL Team of the Week. After the season, he parted ways with the club to pursue other opportunities. In August 2024, Bakare returned to England, joining League Two club Cheltenham Town following a successful trial period.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakare, Ibrahim 2002 births Living people Footballers from London English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Morecambe F.C. players Lancaster City F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Macclesfield F.C. players Cheshunt F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Vancouver FC players Cheltenham Town F.C. players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players Canadian Premier League players English expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English Football League players