Moses Swaibu (born 9 May 1989) is an English former 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 played as a defender. During his career, Swaibu represented Lincoln City in the

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 Engla ...

, last playing for

Whitehawk Whitehawk is a suburb in the east of Brighton, England, south of Bevendean and north of Brighton Marina. The area is a large, modern housing estate built in a downland dry valley historically known as Whitehawk Bottom. The estate was originally ...

in 2013. He made a total of 165 league appearances, scoring four goals. In April 2015, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in a 2013 match fixing scandal.

Playing career

Crystal Palace

Schooled at The Archbishop Lanfranc School,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, Swaibu joined the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

academy at the age of 16 having been spotted playing for Croydon Schools and never having been previously associated with a professional club. Impressive progress in the academy saw him offered a professional contract at the culmination of his two-year scholarship, and awarded the Scholar of the Year and Vice-Presidents Young Player of the Year for the 2006–07 season. Having signed a one-year professional contract with the club, he made the first team squad for the first time for the home game against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on 29 October 2007, where he was an unused substitute in a 2–0 defeat; the game though was notable for the Palace debut of the 15-year-old John Bostock. In February 2008, Swaibu was loaned to

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

side Weymouth, with Palace manager

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

hoping that the loan spell would improve his heading ability. Swaibu played a solitary game for Weymouth in the 2–1 defeat at

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

on 1 March 2008 before returning to

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

. In May 2008, he was one of five players released by the club at the end of their contracts.

Lincoln City

Swaibu linked up with

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 ...

at the beginning of September 2008 on non-contract terms, debuting in the 2–2 home draw with

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 ...

on 2 September 2008, and went on to make 20 league and cup appearances for the Lillywhites, during which he scored a horrific own-goal in the 3–3 draw with

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 l ...

. In January 2009, he commenced a trial with Lincoln City, and made his

debut for the club in the 1–1 draw at

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

on 10 February 2009. He scored his first goal for the club on 9 February 2010 during the 2–1 defeat away at

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, with an audacious chip from 20 yards. He went on to score twice more for the Imps. Having made 10 appearances that season, Swaibu was awarded the Young Player of the Year Award at the end of that season. After the club rejected a transfer bid from

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

he signed a new two-year deal under Peter Jackson. Moses went on and made over 60 appearances for the Imps in his two-year spell. He left Lincoln in January 2011 by mutual consent.

Kettering Town

Swaibu signed for

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

on non-contract terms in October 2011. He left the club two months later, after making six appearances.

Bromley

In December 2011, he rejoined former club

. On 27 April 2012, he signed a new deal with the club, keeping him there until the end of the 2012–13 season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 away win against

Dorchester Town Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the . The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club. They ...

on 8 January 2013. He was not offered a new contract, and left the club at the end of the 2012–13 season.

Sutton United and Whitehawk

In July 2013 he agreed a three-month deal with

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

. He debuted for the club in their 4–1

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

victory over

Staines Town Staines Town Football Club was a semi-professional Association football, football club based in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex. History Early days Staines Town FC was founded in 1892 and was known under various names including ''Staines F.C ...

on 20 August 2013 but made only one further appearance for the club before, at the beginning of September, he was released in order to find regular first team football. He quickly joined

but left the club in November having failed to make the expected impact.

Match-fixing charge

In January 2014, Swaibu was charged with conspiracy to defraud, arising from an investigation into match fixing and an alleged betting syndicate. On 29 April 2015, he was found guilty at

Birmingham Crown Court The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, in Dalton Street, Birmingham, England. History Until the mid-1980s, all Crown Court cases were heard in the Victoria Law Courts in Corporation Street. ...

of conspiracy to commit bribery and jailed for sixteen months.

Honours

Bromley * London Senior Cup: 2012–13

References

External links

*
Lincoln City F.C. official archive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swaibu, Moses 1989 births Living people Men's association football defenders Bromley F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players English criminals English Football League players English men's footballers Footballers from Islington (district) Kettering Town F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players National League (English football) players Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Sutton United F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Whitehawk F.C. players Sportspeople convicted of crimes Match fixers