Oluwatomiwo Ameobi (born 16 August 1988) 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

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 ...

. Having come through the youth academy at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

, he went on to play 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 ...

for

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

before appearing for Non-League sides

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...

and

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

. In 2011 he moved to play in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and had spells in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

with

BÍ/Bolungarvík Knattspyrnudeild Vestra, also known as Vestri, is the football department of the Íþróttafélagið Vestri multi-sport club and is based in Ísafjarðarbær, Iceland. Men's History The club was founded in 1986 as the football department of ''B ...

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn (mountain), Þorbjörn. It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in ...

and VPS. In 2014 Ameobi moved to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and had spells with both

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017. The club went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operat ...

and

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

Career

The 2007–08 season was Ameobi's first campaign in the

first team. He previously played for the club's reserve side, which finished sixth in Division One Central of the Central League in 2006–07. Ameobi signed his first professional contract with Leeds United on 8 August 2007. He had been offered the contract on 8 May, but had to wait three months to sign the deal as the club had been placed under a transfer embargo. He made his first appearance of the pre-season in Leeds United's 2–0 defeat against

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

side

Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in t ...

on 6 August. He started the match, which was the club's final pre-season fixture, and was replaced after 75 minutes. Ameobi made his debut for Leeds on 28 August, against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

. He was loaned out to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

in November 2007. Ameobi returned to Leeds before joining Doncaster on 22 July. On 24 September 2008, he was loaned to

Football League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

. He later returned to Doncaster after just two appearances. Ameobi signed for

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 ...

outfit

on loan in January 2009. He returned to Doncaster the following month, having played five games for Mansfield, but was released from his contract on 7 May. In September 2009, Ameobi signed for

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win over Hayes & Yeading in January 2010 and also in that month represented Forest Green in the 3rd round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

against

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. At the end of the season he was released by the club having made 28 league appearances and having scored 5 times. In July 2010, it was announced that Ameobi was on trial with

. He subsequently signed a contract for the club having impressed in their pre-season friendlies. On 4 September 2010, he featured in the 2–2 draw away at Billingham Synthonia coming on as a half-time substitute. Later in the season Ameobi returned to the side, making appearances during Bay's title challenge against Jarrow Roofing and Newcastle Benfield. On 14 May 2011, Ameobi played his first game in an Icelandic league, and there in the second division. Ameobi's opponents were ÍR, but BÍ/Bvk. lost the game on Torfnesvöllur, 1–2. He scored BÍ/Bvk.'s goal in the game. Ameobi scored again in the second match of the season, winning

Haukar Knattspyrnufélagið Haukar ( en, Hawks F.C.) is an Icelandic multi-sport club from Hafnarfjörður with divisions in Football, Handball, Basketball, Karate, Skiing & Chess. Club history The club was founded on 12 April 1931, when 13 young boys ...

away at Ásvellir, 2–1. On 12 April 2013, Ameobi signed a 1+1 year contract with Finnish League team

Vaasan Palloseura Vaasan Palloseura (or VPS) is a Finnish football club, based in Vaasa. It currently plays in the first tier of Finnish football (''Veikkausliiga''). The club's current manager is Jussi Nuorela. The club plays its home matches at Hietalahti. VP ...

. After his contract with Finnish team

expired, he returned to

. Ameobi played his debut, after his return to Whitley Bay, on 28 December 2013 against Guisborough Town. Ameobi signed with NASL club

on 31 March 2014. He scored on his debut in a 1–1 draw with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

. Ameobi would spend four seasons in Edmonton. After the 2017 season, with the future of FC Edmonton and the NASL in doubt, Ameobi was released from FC Edmonton. Ameobi would leave Edmonton as the club's second all-time leading scorer. On 21 February 2018, Ameobi signed with

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side

for the 2018 season. On 31 January 2019, Ameobi returned for a second spell with

after the club joined the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

Personal life

Ameobi was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Tyne and Wear. Ameobi is the younger brother of striker

Shola Ameobi Foluwashola Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent 14 years at Newcastle United, making 397 official appearances and scoring 79 goals, and received a winner's medal when the ...

and the older brother of former

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

winger

Sammy Ameobi Samuel Oluwaseyi Jesutoromo Ameobi (born 1 May 1992) is a professional footballer who played most recently for Championship club Middlesbrough, although he has since been made a Free Agent. He is the younger brother of fellow players Shola and ...

. Ameobi now lives in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and is a qualified solicitor, having graduated from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ameobi, Tomi 1988 births Living people Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English footballers Association football forwards Black British sportspeople English expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Iceland English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate footballers in Finland English expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate soccer players in Canada English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Newcastle United F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players

Tomi Ameobi Oluwatomiwo Ameobi (born 16 August 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Having come through the youth academy at Leeds United, he went on to play in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, Doncaster ...

Vaasan Palloseura players Whitley Bay F.C. players FC Edmonton players FC Cincinnati (2016–18) players English Football League players National League (English football) players North American Soccer League players USL Championship players Canadian Premier League players

1. deild karla players Veikkausliiga players Tomi