Tunde Owolabi (born 26 July 1995) is a Belgian 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 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 ...

for

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

club Cork City.

Early and personal life

Owolabi's Nigerian father Ganiyu was also a professional footballer. He was born and raised in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, where his father was playing at the time for Royal Antwerp. Owolabi played for Belgian club Royal Cappellen's under 17 side before the family moved to England in 2012, when he was 18 years old.

Career

Owolabi played for the FC United of Manchester development team during the 2013–14 season. He played for New Mills, moving from them to Hyde United in February 2017. By December 2017 he had played for

Prescot Cables Prescot Cables Football Club is a supporter-owned football club based in Prescot, Merseyside. It was established in 1884 and has also been known as Prescot and Prescot Town. They compete in the and play their home games at Valerie Park. They ...

(twice),

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

and Glossop North End. After moving to

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...

in February 2018, without scoring in 10 games, he then played for

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, scoring 26 goals in the 2018–19 season, which earned him the Supporters Player Award from the

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 ...

Player Awards. He left Radcliffe in the summer of 2019 to move to Malta, to join

Victoria Hotspurs Victoria Hotspurs Football Club is a Maltese football club from the town of Victoria, Gozo. Founded in 1948, the club has won a record of 13 First Division titles, the last one being in the 2018–19 season. The Club is popularly known by th ...

before returning to England later that summer, signing with FC United of Manchester in August 2019. He signed a new contract with the club in November 2019. He scored 35 goals in 41 games in all competitions for the club during the 2019–20 season. He signed a one-year contract with Scottish club Hamilton Academical in July 2020, having previously been linked with a transfer to Grimsby Town. He made his professional debut for Hamilton on 8 August 2020 in a Scottish Premier League match against Ross County. On 1 February 2021, Owolabi was released by Hamilton alongside team mate

Justin Johnson Justin Johnson may refer to: * J. Leroy Johnson (1888–1961), Republican United States Congressman from California * Justin Johnson (basketball) (born 1996) American basketball player * Justin Johnson (footballer) (born 1996), Dutch footballer * ...

, via mutual consent. On 7 March 2021, Owolabi signed a one-year deal with Irish club

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Chláirsigh na Finne) are an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. However, it was te ...

. He scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over second placed

St Patrick's Athletic St Patrick's Athletic Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Lúthchleas Phádraig Naofa) is a professional Irish association football club based in Inchicore, Dublin, that plays in the Irish Premier Division. Founded in May 1929, they played origin ...

on 20 August 2021, taking him up to 5 goals for the season. Owolabi scored a total of 12 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions during his time with

. On 24 December 2021, Owolabi signed for

runners up,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

club

, who had also just won the

2021 FAI Cup The 2021 FAI Cup was the 101st edition of the Republic of Ireland's primary national cup competition. This edition features teams from the League of Ireland Premier Division and the First Division, as well as non-league teams. The competition is ...

. On 11 February 2022, Owolabi made his debut for the club in the 2022 President of Ireland's Cup against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

at Tallaght Stadium, scoring in the penalty shootout as his side lost 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. His first goal for Pat's came on 25 February 2022 when he came off the bench and pulled a goal back for his side 10 minutes later in a 2–1 defeat against

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

at Richmond Park. On 23 May 2022, Owolabi scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win over rivals

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

at Richmond Park. Owolabi made his first appearance in European football on 21 July 2022 in a 1–1 draw with Slovenian side

NŠ Mura Nogometna šola Mura ( en, Mura Football School), commonly referred to as NŠ Mura or simply Mura, is a Slovenian football team, playing in the town of Murska Sobota. Founded in 2012, the team currently plays in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top ...

in the UEFA Europa Conference League. On 10 December 2022, Owolabi signed for Cork City for the 2023 season.

Career statistics

References

1995 births Living people Belgian footballers F.C. United of Manchester players New Mills A.F.C. players Hyde United F.C. players Prescot Cables F.C. players Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Glossop North End A.F.C. players Skelmersdale United F.C. players Radcliffe F.C. players Victoria Hotspurs F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Finn Harps F.C. players St Patrick's Athletic F.C. players Cork City F.C. players Northern Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Association football forwards Belgian expatriate footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Malta Expatriate footballers in Malta Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Scotland Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Belgian people of Nigerian descent League of Ireland players Royal Cappellen F.C. players Black Belgian sportspeople {{Belgium-footy-bio-stub