Junior Chukwuemeka Ogedi-Uzokwe also known as Junior (born 3 March 1994) is an English 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

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 ...

, for

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northe ...

side

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

. Ogedi-Uzokwe was a member of the youth teams at

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

, Ilford and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

before making the step up to men's football. Ogedi-Uzokwe spent the 2013–14 season with Enfield 1893,

Aveley Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...

and

Hucknall Town Hucknall Town Football Club are a football club based in the town of Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England. The club are members of the and play at Watnall Road. History Hucknall Town were renamed from Hucknall Colliery Welfare in 1987 and for ...

, before joining Carlton Town in July 2014. In January 2015, he joined Hayes & Yeading United and marked his debut with a goal. In the summer of 2015, Ogedi-Uzokwe joined

Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of ''Fullwell Cross'' which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of ...

, before a move to

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

in December 2015. He then spent 18 months with Türk Ocağı Limasol, where he won the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

. In July 2017, he joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

North Division club Maldon & Tiptree – where he scored 34 goals in 34 games. His prolific scoring form earned him a contract with

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

side

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in January 2018. He signed for

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

on loan in July 2018, and then

Derry City Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

on loan in February 2019. Following the completion of his loan with Derry, he made a permanent move to

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

club Hapoel Hadera in February 2020. Due to the

cancellation he then moved back to the

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 ...

to join

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

. He moved to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in February 2021, before returning to

on loan in July 2021. In January 2023 on the transfer deadline day he signed for

club

Career

Early career

Ogedi-Uzokwe was a member of the youth teams at two

clubs,

and

, separated by a spell at Ilford. He made the step up to men's football at Enfield 1893 at the age of 18. In late 2013, he signed for

before moving to Nottingham and signing for

and Carlton Town. He returned south to play for Hayes & Yeading United,

and

Türk Ocağı Limasol

On 26 January 2016, Ogedi-Uzokwe joined Northern Cypriot club Türk Ocağı Limasol. He made his debut the following day in a 2–0 victory against Gençli̇k Gücü in the

Second Round first leg. On 31 January, Ogedi-Uzokwe scored his first goal for the club in the 7–0 second leg victory. After going four games without a goal, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win at Yeni̇cami AK on 5 March. Ogedi-Uzokwe scored his first goal of the season two weeks later in a 3–1 win against Bostanci Bağcil. In September 2016, Ogedi-Uzokwe returned to the club for a second season but went seven games without a goal. He eventually scored in a 1–0 win against Küçük Kaymakli on 13 November. His second goal came a month later when opening the scoring of a 2–0 win against Gençli̇k Gücü on 30 December. Following a further 14 goalless games for Ogedi-Uzokwe, mostly because he was playing as a midfielder, he scored three goals in April to seal league victories against Çetinkaya Türk and Ci̇hangi̇r. Having appeared in every match of the 2016–17 league campaign, Ogedi-Uzokwe scored twice on the final day of the season in a 6–2 win against Gençli̇k Gücü. A week later, he played 89 minutes in a 1–0 victory against

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...

in the

Final to celebrate his first piece of silverware with the club.

Maldon & Tiptree

In July 2017, Ogedi-Uzokwe joined

North Division club Maldon & Tiptree upon his return to England. He made his debut in a 1–0 win at

Ware Ware may refer to: People * Ware (surname) * William of Ware (), English Franciscan theologian Places Canada *Fort Ware, British Columbia United Kingdom *Ware, Devon *Ware, Hertfordshire *Ware, Kent United States * Ware, Elmore County, Al ...

on 12 August, and scored his first and second goals for the club a week later in a 5–1 win against

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

on his home debut. In September 2017, Ogedi-Uzokwe scored 10 goals in just eight games, including a hat-trick in a 4–2 win against

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

. The following month, he scored eight goals in seven games. During his goalscoring run, he scored in nine consecutive games from 23 September to 28 October, and scored in 15 consecutive league games between 9 September and 2 December. On 25 November, he scored his second hat-trick of the season in a 5–1 win versus Dereham Town. On 1 January 2018, Ogedi-Uzokwe marked his final appearance for the club with a 90th-minute winner against Witham Town. He scored both goals in the 2–1 victory. He left the club having scored 34 goals in 34 games in all competitions.

Colchester United

On 3 January 2018, Ogedi-Uzokwe joined

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 ...

club

alongside Maldon & Tiptree teammate Ryan Gondoh. He signed an 18-month deal. He made his professional debut for Colchester on 20 January 2018 as an injury time substitute in their 1–1 draw with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. He then scored his first professional goal on his first start for the club from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

, before turning provider for Mikael Mandron in Colchester's 2–1 win against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

on 13 February. After nine appearances in the 2017–18 season, he vowed to return stronger for Colchester after a full pre-season with the club.

Bromley loan

On 27 July 2018,

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

signed Ogedi-Uzokwe on loan until January 2019. He made his Bromley debut as a second-half substitute in their 2–1 defeat at

AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wes ...

on 4 August. He scored his first goal for the club with an 88th-minute winner in a 1–0 win over

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

on 18 August.

Derry City loan

On 7 February 2019, Ogedi-Uzokwe joined

side

on loan until 30 June. He made his debut on 15 February in Derry's 3–0 win against UCD. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win in the

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

against

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 2 April. His loan was extended to the end of the League of Ireland season after an automatic one-year contract extension was activated by Colchester. Junior finished the season with 16 goals and 11 assists in all competition. Finishing as the league's top scorer with 14 goals and helping Derry to secure

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

for the following season.

Hapoel Hadera

On 5 February, Colchester United announced the departure of Ogedi-Uzokwe to

side Hapoel Hadera on a permanent contract. He made his debut for the club the same day, starting in a 1–0 win against Bnei Yehuda.

Sligo Rovers

On 24 July 2020 Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe signed for Irish club Sligo Rovers. Junior scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 victory over Dundalk FC. Ogedi-Uzokwe's second goal for Sligo Rovers came two months later, in a 2-1 victory over Cork City. This result all but confirmed City's relegation from the Premier Division. In his 15 appearances and 2 goals in all competitions, Ogedi-Uzokwe helped Sligo to secure a 4th place finish and

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

football for the 2021 season.

Dundalk

On 24 February 2021, Ogedi-Uzokwe signed for his third

club,

ahead of their 2021 season. His competitive debut for the club saw him earn a winners medal as his side won the 2021 President's Cup by beating

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 ...

on penalties after a 1–1 draw 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 ...

on 12 March 2021. Ogedi-Uzokwe's first goal for the club came on 17 April 2021 when he scored an 85th minutes equalizer against league leaders

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 ...

Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey F ...

Derry City loan

Ogedi-Uzokwe returned to

on loan for the second time in his career on 1 July 2021 until the end of the season. He scored his first goal since his return to the club on 16 July 2021 in a 4–2 loss to

at the

Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium ( ga, Tobar an Fhíoruisce ) is a municipal football stadium with an adjoining greyhound racing track in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of League of Ireland team Derry City F.C. and (temporaril ...

. Ogedi-Uzokwe scored 6 goals in 15 appearances during his loan spell, helping Derry to a 4th place finish, 2 places above his parent club

Bohemians

Ogedi-Uzokwe signed a multi-year contract with

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 ...

ahead of the 2022 season.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Türk Ocağı Limasol *

: 2017 Dundalk *

President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

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 ...

Individual

League of Ireland Premier Division top scorer A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogedi-Uzokwe, Junior 1994 births Living people English footballers Association football forwards Leyton Orient F.C. players Ilford F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Hucknall Town F.C. players Enfield 1893 F.C. players Aveley F.C. players Carlton Town F.C. players Barkingside F.C. players Gedling Miners Welfare F.C. players Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Maldon & Tiptree F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Bromley F.C. players Derry City F.C. players Hapoel Hadera F.C. players Sligo Rovers F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Isthmian League players East Midlands Counties Football League players National League (English football) players League of Ireland players English Football League players Israeli Premier League players English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Northern Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Israel Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel English people of Nigerian descent English expatriate sportspeople in Northern Cyprus Black British sportspeople Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Essex Senior Football League players