Michael Adewale A. Oluwabunmi Bakare (born 1 December 1986) 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 ...

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

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

Career

Early career

Bakare started his senior career in the 2006–07 season, playing for Hertford Town and

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

. The following season, Bakare signed for

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

. In 2008, Bakare signed for

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

, before spells with

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

, and

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

. In 2010, Bakare joined Bishop's Stortford. It was here where he first made a real impact, converting from a full back and midfielder to a forward player. Following an impressive 9 goals in 14 games early in the 2011/12 season, Bakare joined Conference South club

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

, in a free transfer on 19 October 2011. He continued to impress at his new club, scoring 5 goals in 10 games, which earned Bakare a move to Football League side,

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

on 17 January 2012.

Macclesfield Town

Bakare signed on a free transfer, and made his first appearance as a substitute against Swindon Town on 21 January 2012. He was however limited to substitute appearances at Macclesfield, not starting a single game, and was released by the club, following their relegation at the end of the 2011/2012 season, making only 9 appearances. His last game was against Southend United on 5 May 2012.

Southport

Conference National club

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

took Bakare on trial in July 2012. After a single appearance in a friendly against

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...

it was announced manager Liam Watson had signed the player to a contract for the 2012–13 season at the club's AGM on 27 July 2012.

Droylsden (loan)

In October 2012 he joined

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

on loan and scored on his club debut on 27 October as the club beat Colwyn Bay.

2013–2016

From then on he has been somewhat of a journeyman, going on to play for

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

, Tonbridge Angels, Braintree Town, Bury Town, VCD Athletic and Witham Town before rejoining his former club

for the 2015/16 season.

Wrexham

On 22 June 2016, he joined

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, along with his Welling teammate

Nortei Nortey Nii Nortei Nortey (born 29 October 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Colorado Hailstorm in the USL League One. Nortey started his career at Chelsea's academy but was released in 2013 and had a s ...

, on a 1-year deal. He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2016–17 season, in a 0–0 draw with

. On 24 November 2016, he joined

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

from Wrexham until January 2017. He made his debut in a league match against Metropolitan Police where he won his side a penalty before converting it himself, in a game that finished 1–1. Following the end of his loan spell, Bakare returned to Wrexham where his contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 23 January 2017.

Warrington Town

Bakare signed for Warrington Town on 23 March 2017.

Connah's Quay Nomads

In August 2017, Bakare joined

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

side Connah's Quay Nomads, alongside his brother Mathias, after a successful trial period. In May 2018, he scored in the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

final, helping his team to a 4–1 win. In December 2018, Bakare extended his contract with Connah's Quay for a further year.

Hereford

On 16 February 2021, Bakare joined

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

side Hereford on a short-term deal.

Iceland

ON 13 July 2021, Bakare signed for Icelandic 1. deild karla side

Fjölnir Fjölnir ( non, Fjǫlnir ) is a legendary king in Norse mythology said to have been the son of Freyr (Frey) and his consort Gerðr (Gertha). The name appears in a variety of forms, including Fiolnir, Fjölner, Fjolner, and Fjolne. He was claim ...

, joining a team outside of the UK for the first time.

Leatherhead

In November 2021, he returned to England and signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leathe ...

Arbroath

In February 2022, Bakare signed a short-term deal with

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

side Arbroath until the end of the season. In July 2022, Bakare joined

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikka ...

side

until the end of the year.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakare, Michael 1986 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Hackney English footballers Association football midfielders Hertford Town F.C. players Waltham Forest F.C. players Welwyn Garden City F.C. players Leyton F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Thurrock F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Southport F.C. players Droylsden F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Bury Town F.C. players VCD Athletic F.C. players Witham Town F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players Warrington Town F.C. players Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. players Hereford F.C. players Ungmennafélagið Fjölnir players Leatherhead F.C. players Arbroath F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players English people of Nigerian descent Black British sportsmen English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Iceland English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate footballers in Finland English expatriate sportspeople in Finland Veikkausliiga players HIFK Fotboll players