Abdulmalik Timmy Owolabi-Belewu (born 3 July 2002) is an English professional 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 ...

for Forge FC in the Canadian Premier League.

Early life

Born in London, England, Owolabi-Belewu began playing youth football with the Junior Red Spartans. When he was 13, he moved to London, Ontario, Canada with his family. He began playing with Whitecaps London SC, later being invited to try out for the official

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

, however, due to an injury, he was unable to make the team. In 2018, he joined the Toronto FC Academy. While with the Toronto FC academy, he converted from striker to defender. In 2020, he returned to England. In June 2020, he was invited to trial with English club Chelsea, however was unable to attend due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions. He also had interest from English clubs Crystal Palace and Sunderland, Italian club AS Roma, German club Hertha Berlin, Belgian club Anderlecht, and French club OGC Nice. In 2020, he had been set to join

Phoenix Sports F.C. Phoenix Sports Football Club is an English football club located in Barnehurst, Kent. The club plays in the . Phoenix Sports spent most of its history in the Kent County Football League, with a six-year stint in the Spartan League in the late ...

in the English eighth tier

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 ...

, however, before officially signing, Italian club SPAL invited him for a trial.

Club career

In 2020, he signed for Italian Serie B side SPAL. He spent the majority of the time with the U19 squad, making the bench for the first team for two cup matches, but not making an appearance. In April 2022, he signed for Canadian Premier League club Forge FC. On 14 May 2022, Owolabi-Belewu made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw with Atlético Ottawa. He scored his first goal on 1 October 2022, against

York United York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. History ...

. He won the CPL title with the club in 2022. In October 2023, he helped Forge win their fourth league title, following a 2–1 win over Cavalry FC in the

play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

International career

At international level, he is eligible to represent England through birth, Canada through residency, and Nigeria through his parents. In 2017, he attended a camp with the Canada U15 national team. In 2019, he was invited to a camp with the Nigeria U17 team, but was unable to accept the call-up. In 2020, he committed to representing Nigeria at international level.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owolabi-Belewu, Malik 2002 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian Premier League players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Italy English men's footballers English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Footballers from London Forge FC players SPAL players Toronto FC Academy players Black British sportsmen