Onome Sympson Sodje (born 17 July 1988) is a Nigerian

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

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He has played professionally for clubs in England, Slovakia, Malta, Vietnam, Algeria and Albania.

Career

Born in

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial c ...

, Delta State, Sodje came through the

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

youth system, . He scored 14 goals in 19 games in the 2003–04 U17 FA Premier Academy League. He spent time on

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 d ...

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 ...

towards the end of the 2004–05 season. He then went out on loan 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 ...

team Gravesend & Northfleet in September 2005. He rejoined Gravesend for a second loan period in February 2006. He was released by Charlton in 2006 and eventually signed for Gravesend & Northfleet permanently in August. Onome Sodje 26-12-2007 1

Sodje signed for fellow

Conference Premier 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-profess ...

club York City on 18 June 2007 on a free transfer. He was joint top goalscorer with 17 goals in the 2007–08 season. Sodje won the first Conference Premier Goal of the Month award in September 2008 with a goal against

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

, which won with 30% of the vote. He came on as a 63rd minute substitute in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 9 May 2009, which York lost 2–0 to Stevenage Borough. He was largely restricted to the bench as his form dipped during the 2008–09 season, which he finished with 46 appearances and seven goals. Sodje signed for Championship team

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

on 15 June 2009. He was allowed to move on a free transfer as he was playing at York on a non-contract basis. His contract status was due to his lack of a valid work permit, connected to an ongoing dispute with immigration officials over his right to reside in the UK. York spent £5,000 on legal fees to fight his case which also attracted the support of the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere U ...

and MP

Hugh Bayley Sir Hugh Nigel Edward Bayley (born 9 January 1952) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for York Central, previously York and City of York, from 1992 to 2015. Early life Bayley was born in Maidenhead, B ...

. After winning the right to stay in the country he chose to move to Barnsley rather than sign the contract offered by York. He made his debut as a 79th-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat to

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 15 August. He joined Conference Premier leaders

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

on an emergency loan on 23 November and made his debut a day later as a substitute in a 1–0 victory over Forest Green Rovers. He scored his first goal in a 1–1 with

Salisbury City Salisbury City Football Club was an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They were formed in 1947 and played at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury had gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference S ...

, which put Oxford in the lead on 79 minutes. Oxford confirmed his loan would not be extended in January 2010. He joined Slovak Superliga team

FK Senica FK Senica () is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Senica. The club was founded in 1921. History FK Senica was founded in 1921. Newly created partition was rapidly progressed, but the boom dampened dark period World War II. World war ...

in January, scoring a header on his debut in a 2–1 victory over

MFK Ružomberok MFK Ružomberok () is a Slovak football club, playing in the city of Ružomberok. History Established in 1906, the club's colours have been traditionally white, yellow and red, which are also featured on the town's flag. However, the sponsor ...

in February. Sodje finished the 2009–10 season with one goal in 13 appearances. He made only appearance in the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, in a 0–0 draw at MŠK Žilina on 21 August. He later signed with

Vietnamese First Division V.League 2 or Vietnamese National Football First League, ( vi, Giải Bóng đá Hạng Nhất Quốc Gia Việt Nam), also called LS V.League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier professional association football league in Vietnam c ...

club Đồng Nai. Sodje joined

Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...

of the Maltese Premier League in December and scored on his debut, a 4–2 victory over Ħamrun Spartans. In July 2012, he joined

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n club

CR Belouizdad Chabab Riadhi de Belouizdad S.s.p.a (Classical Arabic: الشّباب الرّياضيّ لبلوزداد, English Translation: Sporting Club of Belouizdad), known as ''Chabab Belouizdad'' or ''CR Belouizdad'' or simply ''CRB'' for short, is a ...

, signing a three-year contract. He scored one goal in 13 games in the

Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 ( ar, الرابطة الجزائرية المحترفة الأولى لكرة القدم); known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat Natio ...

, before being released at the end of the season. Following his release from Belouizdad, Sodje signed for

Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

club

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

. Sodje scored on his debut for Partizani Tirana on 18 September 2013, in their 2–2 draw against

Bylis Ballsh KF Bylis, also known as Bylis Ballsh, is an Albanian football club based in Ballsh, Mallakastër District. The club's home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore. History Early history The club ...

. In October 2014 he returned to England, signing for Nuneaton Town. Sodje 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 ...

for the 2015–16 season, scoring 7 goals for the club.

Personal life

He moved to England at the age of 14 and attended

Sedgehill School Sedgehill Academy, previously Sedgehill School, is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Lewisham, London, England. It is part of United Learning. History The school opened in 1957 as a flagship campus for the new compreh ...

in south-east London. Sodje's uncles,

Sam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

Efe Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

Akpo : ''For the Sheffield Wednesday striker see Akpo Sodje'' Akpo fields Discovered in 2000, the Akpo field is located in ultra deepwater of Nigeria. Situated on OML 130 approximately from Port Harcourt, Akpo's water depths range from . A gas and ...

, and Steve all play football in England as well. Another uncle

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

is a former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer.

Career statistics

:A. The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) 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 ...

, Football Conference and Slovak Superliga. :B. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Conference League Cup and

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sodje, Onome 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Warri Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Association football forwards Charlton Athletic F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players York City F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players FK Senica players Dong Nai FC players Floriana F.C. players CR Belouizdad players FK Partizani Tirana players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Billericay Town F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Slovak Super Liga players Maltese Premier League players Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Kategoria Superiore players Expatriate footballers in Albania Expatriate footballers in Algeria Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Malta Expatriate footballers in Slovakia Expatriate footballers in Vietnam Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Albania Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Algeria Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Malta Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam