Paul Kpaka (born 7 August 1981) is a former Sierre Leonean

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 striker.

Early life

Paul Kpaka was born into the Sherbro Rogers family in

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of ...

, the third largest city in Sierra Leone. He is a member of the famous Sherbro Kpaka or Rogers family originally from

Bonthe District Bonthe District is a district that comprises several islands and mainland of the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. Bonthe is one of the sixteen districts of Sierra Leone. Its capital is the town of Bonthe Island and its la ...

. Kpaka grew up in Kenema and Bo. He attended

Bo School The Bo Government Secondary School commonly known as Bo School is a secondary school located on a property in the center of Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone. The school was founded in 1906 at the behest of the British colonial govern ...

in Bo, Sierra Leone's second largest city. Kpaka who is commonly known by his

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

Senegal and was considered the best secondary footballer in Sierra Leone. After he completed his secondary school education, his hometown club,

Kamboi Eagles The Kamboi Eagles Football Club commonly known as Kamboi Eagles, is a Sierra Leonean football club based in Kenema City, Sierra Leone, currently a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the highest division of football league in Sie ...

of the

Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, one of the major Sierra Leonean banks. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpoo ...

signed him.

Club career

Germinal Beerschot

In 2002, Belgian club

Germinal Beerschot Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

signed him from

FC Brussels Racing White Daring Molenbeek Brussels F.C., often simply referred to as RWDM Brussels, F.C. Brussels or simply Brussels was a Belgian association football club based in the municipality of Molenbeek in the Brussels Capital-Region. They last pl ...

, whom he had joined after playing for various clubs in Sweden and

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

in the Netherlands. During his first season in Belgium, Kpaka was the top scorer in the Jupiler League, hitting 28 league goals in the 2002–03 campaign. He was third at the

Ebony Shoe Award The Ebony Shoe award (Dutch: ''Ebbenhouten schoen'', French: ''Soulier d'ébène'') is a football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League. The jury is composed of the coaches of leag ...

, an award given to the top

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

footballer in Belgium. He signed for fellow Belgian club

Genk Genk () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. I ...

for the next season.

Genk

Kpaka was expected to lead Genk to the top two position in the Jupiler League, and take the club to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

, but he suffered a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...

injury during the beginning of the season, which kept him out of football for six months. When he returned from injury, he could no longer secure a place in the starting eleven. He left the club in 2006–07 season and signed for another Belgian club

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

Return to GBA

After two seasons for Roeselare, Kpaka returned to Germinal Beerschot in summer 2008. However, after two unsuccessful seasons, his contract was not renewed, and he will therefore leave Germinal Beerschot on 1 July 2010.

In Cyprus

Kpaka finished his career with Cypriot clubs

Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the firs ...

and

Chalkanoras Idaliou Chalkanoras Idaliou ( el, Χαλκάνορας Ιδαλίου) is a Cypriot football team currently playing in the Cypriot Second Division. The team was established in 1948 and is based in the village of Dali in Nicosia district. The club has pl ...

in the

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Division A Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics * Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military * Division (military), a formation typically consistin ...

.Paul Kpaka signs for Enosis

International career

Kpaka is a regular starter for Sierra Leone. He made his international debut for Sierra Leone in a 2004 African Nations Cup qualifier against

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

on 12 October 2002. Sierra Leone won the match 2–0, with Kpaka scoring the first goal. Later on in the match, he got

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for elbowing an opponent.

References

External links

*
v-bal.nl
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kpaka, Paul 1981 births Living people Association football forwards Sierra Leonean footballers Sierra Leonean expatriate footballers Cypriot First Division players Belgian First Division A players Eredivisie players R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players Beerschot A.C. players K.R.C. Genk players RBC Roosendaal players K.S.V. Roeselare players Sierra Leone international footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Sierra Leonean expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands People from Kenema