Ryan Alexander Hezekiah Adeleye ( he, ריאן אלכסנדר חזקיה אדלי; born April 28, 1987, in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who currently plays for Atlantic City FC in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the Un ...

Biography

Early life

Adeleye was born to Manny Adeleye and Lori Herzig, and is Jewish. His father is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

who converted to Judaism, while his mother is a Jew from Connecticut. Adeleye attended high school at

Newark Academy Newark Academy is a coeducational private day school located in Livingston, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Col ...

, where he received all-state, all-conference, all-prep and all-county honors in soccer.

College

Adeleye attended

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

from 2005 to 2006. Afterwards, he transferred to the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...

where he was a member of the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

men's soccer team. Adeleye's goal for the Tar Heels in a 2007 match against Duke earned him ACC player of the week. After college, Adeleye entered the 2009 MLS SuperDraft where he went undrafted. That same summer, Adeleye was named to the US men's squad for the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

in Israel.

Israel

As part of the US Maccabiah team, Adeleye featured in a friendly match against

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested ...

side Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Adeleye managed to impress manager Guy Azouri and joined Be'er Sheva on trial at the conclusion of the men's tournament along with teammate Daniel Schultz. After being signed, Adeleye counted as a foreigner for the club as they awaited his naturalization via the

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Is ...

. Adeleye made his professional debut for Be'er Sheva in a

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

match against Hapoel Petah Tikva on August 18, 2009. The result was a 1–0 loss. During a training session in October 2009, Adeleye collapsed, causing panic within the club. He returned to regular training a week later with the permission of the medical staff. The event was scary for Be'er Sheva as it was a tough reminder of former player Chaswe Nsofwa, who died during a training match. About a month later, on December 5, 2009, Adeleye made his league debut, coming on for Shimon Harush in the 86th minute in a 2–0 victory over Hapoel Petah Tikva.

Career statistics

Footnotes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adeleye, Ryan 1987 births Israeli Jews Living people Israeli footballers Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey Jewish American sportspeople Jewish footballers Newark Academy alumni Association football defenders Soccer players from New Jersey North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players North Carolina Fusion U23 players USL League Two players Jersey Express S.C. players Maccabiah Games competitors for the United States Maccabiah Games footballers Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Liga Leumit players American expatriate soccer players American emigrants to Israel Davidson Wildcats men's soccer players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players North American Soccer League players Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players USL Championship players Davidson College alumni American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Israeli people of Nigerian descent American soccer players African-American soccer players American people of Yoruba descent Israeli people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American people