James Bright Adusei Abankwah (born 16 January 2004) is an Irish 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 plays as a defender for

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

, having joined in January 2022 from

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

, the club where he started his career.

Club career

Early career

Abankwah was born in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, where he lived with his family before moving to

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

, then to

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

before moving to

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

where he began playing football with local side Letterkenny Rovers in 2011. He later moved to

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

with his family, where he played for local club Melview FC, where he also represented Longford at the prestigious Kennedy Cup youth tournament at Under-14 level in 2016, before the family moved again, returning to

in Ireland's capital,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. While still living in Longford, Abankwah signed for top Dublin schoolboy club Cherry Orchard, travelling to Dublin training by lifts from his parents and occasionally by bus, aged 12. It was there where his performances attracted the interest of scouts from local

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

club

who signed Abankwah for their Under-15 team in January 2019, aged 14. On 24 October 2019, Abankwah was part of the side that won the Under-15 League of Ireland title, as they defeated rivals

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

2–1 at

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now ow ...

to claim the trophy. A month later they defeated the same opposition in the Under-15 Cup final on penalties at

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

to win the double. In 2020, he was promoted straight to the Under-19 team, three years above his age group, where on 22 December 2020, he was part of the team that won the

League of Ireland U19 Division The League of Ireland U19 Division is the under-19 division of the League of Ireland. The current division is the successor of earlier U21 and U20 divisions. Like the Premier Division and First Division, the U19 Division is currently sponsored ...

Final, beating rivals

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

2–1

after extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Draw (tie), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is ...

at the

UCD Bowl UCD can refer to: Education *University College Dublin, Irish university **University College Dublin A.F.C., the university's association football club **University College Dublin RFC, the university's rugby union club **UCD GAA, the university G ...

to secure a

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...

spot for the club.

St Patrick's Athletic

2021 season

On 7 July 2021, Abankwah signed his first professional contract at

side

, having impressed for the club's academy teams. He made his senior debut just 2 days later aged just 17 when he came off the bench for

Alfie Lewis Alfie Lewis (born 28 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland Premier Division club Dundalk, having previously played for Plymouth Argyle, St Patrick's Athletic & West Ham United, w ...

in the 62nd minute of a 1–0 win over Derry City. His first start for the club was on 3 September 2021, a 3–2 win over

Longford Town Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

. On 28 November 2021, he became the youngest ever player to appear in an

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

Final at 17 years old when he replaced Paddy Barrett in the 80th minute of the 2021 FAI Cup Final, as his side defeated rivals

4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record

Final crowd of 37,126 at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...

. He made a total of 13 appearances in all competitions during the 2021 season, his first in senior football.

2022 season

On 25 January 2022, it was announced that the club had sold Abankwah to Italian

side

for an undisclosed fee believed to a record fee paid for a

player, believed to be in the region of €800,000 plus add ons. As part of the transfer, he was loaned back to

until 30 June 2022, in order to allow him complete his

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

exams at his school, Adamstown Community College, alongside playing for the club. Before the season started, manager

Tim Clancy Tim Clancy (born 8 June 1984) is an Irish football manager of League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic, having previously managed Drogheda United. During his playing career, Clancy played for Millwall, Weymouth, AFC Hor ...

stated that there were no ‘no limitations’ set out by

on Abankwah's playing time, while he also mentioned ‘It’ll be a pleasure to work with him’ during his loan. On 11 February 2022, Abankwah was in the starting XI in the 2022 President of Ireland's Cup against

, eventually being replaced by Tom Grivosti in the 76th minute due to an injury, as his side lost 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. On 18 February 2022, in the opening league game of the season away to Dublin rivals Shelbourne, Abankwah played his first full 90 minutes of his senior career with his performance in the 3–0 win at

Tolka Park Tolka Park ( ga, Páirc na Tulchann) is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne. The stadium fo ...

drawing comparisons in his playing style to that of former

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

defender Paul McGrath.

Udinese

On 25 January 2022, it was announced that Abankwah had signed for

club

on a four-and-a-half year contract. Ahead of joining up with the team in the summer of 2022, Abankwah revealed that he was taking

Italian language Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 m ...

lessons twice a week. Abankwah made his unofficial debut for the club on 13 July 2022, playing the second half of an 11–0 friendly win over Rapid Lienz. On 20 July 2022, it was announced that Abankwah's squad number would be the number 14.

International career

Under 15 & 16

As well as the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, his country of birth, Abankwah is also eligible to represent

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

at international level due to his parents being from there. Abankwah received his first callup to the Republic of Ireland U15 squad in January 2019, but did not feature in any of the 3 friendly games during the trip to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His first international appearances came for the Republic of Ireland U16 team against Denmark U16 and England U16 in August 2019.In October 2019, he was included in the Republic of Ireland U16 squad for the following month's Victory Shield tournament played in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He featured against Scotland U16 and Northern Ireland U16 at the tournament.

Under 18 & 19

He was named as captain of the Under-18 side by manager Colin O'Brien in November 2021 for a 0–0 draw with Malta U18 in a friendly. He made his first Republic of Ireland U19 appearances on 8 & 11 October 2021, playing in both a 2–2 and a 1–1 draw with Sweden U19 in two friendlies. He started all three of the team's 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches on their November 2021 trip to

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 ...

, featuring against Montenegro U19, Bosnia and Herzegovina U19 and Bulgaria U19, helping his team to qualify for the Elite Phase. Abankwah's first goal at international level came on 23 March 2022, scoring an equaliser in an eventual 3–1 defeat away to England U19 at

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, also known as the Poundland Bescot Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Walsall, England, and the current home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989–90, by GMI Construction, with a reporte ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

Career statistics

Honours

;St Patrick's Athletic *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abankwah, James 2004 births Living people Association footballers from County Waterford Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland youth international footballers St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Udinese Calcio players League of Ireland players Serie A players Association football defenders Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Irish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Black Irish sportspeople Irish people of Ghanaian descent Irish sportspeople of African descent European sportspeople of Ghanaian descent