Jai Emile Mau'u Ingham (born 14 August 1993) 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 a
winger for
National Premier Leagues
The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state-based ...
club
South Melbourne
South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...
. Born in Australia and of New Zealand and Samoan descent, Ingham has represented the
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
internationally.
Career
Olympic FC
Ingham started his career with
Olympic FC
Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has grow ...
seniors in the
National Premier League
The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it ...
while training to be an electrician. In July 2013, he was picked as one of Australia's top eight players outside the A-League. Selected in the QLD NPL football team of the year 2013.
Brisbane Roar
At the beginning of the
2013–14 National Youth League, Ingham joined
Brisbane Roar's youth side. Scoring 13 goals in 11 appearances. Including a second half hat-trick that secured victory over Adelaide.
On 24 January 2014, Ingham debuted for the senior team, coming on as a substitute in the 72nd minute of a 2–1 victory over
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
.
Hume City
Ingham drew positive reactions while at
National Premier Leagues Victoria
The National Premier Leagues Victoria, commonly known as NPL Victoria, is a semi-professional soccer league in Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level within the Victorian soccer lea ...
side Hume City during the
2015 FFA Cup
The 2015 FFA Cup was the second season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams began competition in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including all 10 A-League teams, the reigning Nat ...
.
Melbourne Victory
Ingham trained with Melbourne Victory for a month ahead of the 2016 January transfer window and was signed as the club's first use of the Mature Age Rookie salary cap allowance. Ingham made his debut for Melbourne Victory against the
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
on 8 January 2016, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for
Fahid Ben Khalfallah
Fahid Ben Khalfallah ( ar, فهيد بن خلف الله; born 9 October 1982) is a retired professional footballer who last played for and was head coach of Australian side Nunawading City. Born in France, he represented the Tunisia national ...
in an eventual 3–3 draw.
Ingham made his first start for Melbourne Victory in their opening
2016 AFC Champions League
The 2016 AFC Champions League was the 35th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 14th under the current AFC Champions League title.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defeated Al-Ain ...
match against
Shanghai SIPG F.C. on 24 February 2016, in what was only his third appearance for the club. During the match, he scored his first goal for the club, scoring in the 31st minute in an eventual 2–1 win. He then went on to make his first
A-League starting appearance on 6 March against the
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
, setting up both
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha (born 29 July 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Youth and Hamburger SV
Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9. He then moved to var ...
and
Fahid Ben Khalfallah
Fahid Ben Khalfallah ( ar, فهيد بن خلف الله; born 9 October 1982) is a retired professional footballer who last played for and was head coach of Australian side Nunawading City. Born in France, he represented the Tunisia national ...
for goals and was voted best on ground in a 2–0 win at
Central Coast Stadium
Central Coast Stadium (known originally as Grahame Park), known commercially as Industree Group Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners asso ...
. Ingham scored the equaliser against
Juventus F.C.
)''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback)
, founded = as Sport-Club Juventus
, ground = Juventus Stadium
, capacity = 41,507
, owner = Agnell ...
in a pre-
2016–17 A-League
The 2016–17 A-League was the 40th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 12th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season began on 7 October 2016.
Adelaide United were both the defending A-League Premiers and Champ ...
season friendly match at the
MCG
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
.
Ingham scored his first A-League goal for Melbourne Victory on 12 November 2016, against the
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
, in an eventual 3–0 win.
Ingham has an impressive AFC Champions League record for Melbourne Victory with 9 appearances 3 goals and 1 assist. Due to this Fox Sports commentator Andy Harper gave him the nickname "The Asian Specialist," after his third goal in Asian Champions League against Chinese giants Guangzhou Evergrande, April 22nd 2019.
Ingham was released by Melbourne Victory at the conclusion of the
2018–19 A-League season.
Central Coast Mariners
In June 2019, Ingham joined
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
on a two-year contract among a host of signings under new coach
Alen Stajcic
Alen Stajcic (born 2 November 1973) is a former Australian soccer player and is the head coach of the Philippines women's national football team. While as a footballer he was a NSW Premier League player and an Australian Youth Representative.
...
.
Return to Brisbane Roar
In August 2019, less than 2 months after signing with
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...
, Ingham negotiated a mutual contract release with the club and joined
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
. In March 2021, Ingham departed Brisbane Roar.
United City
Ingham signed a contract with
Philippines Football League
The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Foo ...
side
United City
United City is a group of businesses based within Greater Manchester, England, who supported proposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester via the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid for £3 billion. The bid was rejecte ...
as one of their foreign players and the final player in a slew of new signings. This came a few hours after it was announced that
Brisbane Roar
Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat.
Brisba ...
and Ingham had mutually agreed to terminate the player's contract.
International career
In May 2016, Ingham was named to the
Samoan national squad for the
2016 OFC Nations Cup
The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 Jun ...
however he did not travel to Papua New Guinea for the tournament and was listed as an absentee.
In March 2017, Ingham was called up to the
New Zealand national squad for
World Cup qualifiers, along with his brother
Dane. He made his debut on 28 March 2017 against
Fiji.
Personal life
Jai is the cousin of Samoan international
Johnny Hall and brother of
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...
player
Dane Ingham
Dane Ingham (born 8 June 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a right wing-back for A-League club Newcastle Jets. Born and raised in Australia, he plays for the New Zealand national team. Mainly a right wing-back or right-back, Ingh ...
. In addition to holding an Australian passport, Ingham also holds Samoan and New Zealand passports,
as he has a Samoan-New Zealand mother and an Australian father.
Honours
Melbourne Victory
*
A-League Championship
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...
:
2017–18
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingham, Jai
1993 births
Living people
Samoan footballers
New Zealand association footballers
New Zealand international footballers
Australian soccer players
Association football midfielders
Brisbane Roar FC players
Melbourne Victory FC players
Central Coast Mariners FC players
A-League Men players
National Premier Leagues players
2016 OFC Nations Cup players
New Zealand people of Samoan descent
New Zealand people of Australian descent
Australian people of Samoan descent
Australian people of New Zealand descent
People from Lismore, New South Wales
Sportsmen from New South Wales
Soccer players from New South Wales