Matthias Olubori Ayodluwa Fanimo (born 28 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Slovenian PrvaLiga club

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

Club career

West Ham United

A youth team player, Fanimo signed his first professional contract with West Ham United in the summer of 2011. He made his first team debut for West Ham on 28 August 2012 against Crewe Alexandra in the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

coming on as a 60th-minute substitute for Matthew Taylor. West Ham won the match 2–0. Fanimo was released by West Ham on 2 February 2015.

Tranmere Rovers

In September 2014, Fanimo signed on loan for Tranmere Rovers. He made only one appearance for Tranmere, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute for Jake Kirby in a 1–0 away defeat by

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

on 27 September 2014.

Margate

On 27 June 2016, Fanimo signed with Margate.

Drava Ptuj

On 16 January 2018, Fanimo signed with Slovenian Second League club

Drava Ptuj Nogometni klub Drava Ptuj ( en, Drava Ptuj Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Drava Ptuj or simply Drava, was a Slovenian football club, which played in the town of Ptuj. Named after the Drava river which flows through the town, Drava P ...

Mladost Doboj Kakanj

On 16 January 2019, Fanimo left Drava and signed a two-and-a-half year contract with

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and Herz ...

club Mladost Doboj Kakanj. He made his official debut for Mladost on 23 February 2019 in a 1–0 win over GOŠK Gabela. Fanimo scored his first goal for Mladost on 20 April 2019, in a 3–1 home win against GOŠK Gabela.

Sarajevo

On 24 July 2020, Fanimo signed a three-year contract with Sarajevo for an alleged transfer fee of €50,000. He made his official debut for the club in a league match against Krupa on 2 August 2020. Fanimo scored his first goal for Sarajevo on 20 September 2020, against

Sloboda Tuzla Fudbalski klub Sloboda Tuzla ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Слободa Tyзла; English: Football Club Sloboda Tuzla) is a Bosnian professional football club based in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The English translation of the team ...

. He won his first trophy with the club on 26 May 2021, after beating

Borac Banja Luka Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...

in the 2020–21 Bosnian Cup final. In February 2022, Sarajevo terminated its contract with Fanimo due to his alleged indiscipline.

Slaven Belupo

In June 2022, Fanimo joined Croatian Football League club

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

on a free transfer. He made nine league appearances for the team in the first part of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, before leaving the club in December 2022 following the termination of his contract by mutual consent.

Koper

On 14 December 2022, Fanimo returned to Slovenia and signed a contract with Slovenian top division side

until June 2024.

International career

Fanimo has played for England at under-16, under-17, and the under-18 level. He made his debut for the under-16 side on 28 November 2008 against Scotland U16 in the

2008 Victory Shield The Victory Shield 2008 is the 63rd edition of the Victory Shield, an annual football tournament that began in 1925 and is competed for by the Under 16 level teams of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. It was held from 3 October to 29 No ...

which England won 2–0 and in doing so, winning the shield. Fanimo was then given the captain's armband for the

2009 Victory Shield The Victory Shield 2009 is the 64th edition of the Victory Shield, an annual football tournament that began in 1925 and is competed for by the Under 16 level teams of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. It was held from 1 October to 26 No ...

Kenny Swain Kenneth Swain (born 28 January 1952) is an English former footballer who played in numerous positions, including striker, midfielder and full back. Playing career Swain began his professional career with Londoners Chelsea, signing from Wycombe ...

and he then scored his first goal at U16 level against Northern Ireland on 5 November 2009 in the 82nd minute as England went on to win 2–0. Fanimo then made his debut at under-17 level on 3 August 2010 against Finland, and his under-18 debut in November 2011 against Slovakia.

Honours

Sarajevo * Bosnian Cup: 2020–21

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanimo, Matthias 1994 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth English footballers Association football wingers Black British sportspeople England youth international footballers English expatriate footballers West Ham United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Margate F.C. players Hornchurch F.C. players NK Drava Ptuj (2004) players FK Mladost Doboj Kakanj players FK Sarajevo players NK Slaven Belupo players FC Koper players English Football League players National League (English football) players Slovenian Second League players Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina players Croatian Football League players Slovenian PrvaLiga players English expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate footballers in Slovenia English expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina Expatriate footballers in Bosnia and Herzegovina English expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate footballers in Croatia