Zema Abbey (born 17 April 1977) 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 striker. He has a degree in Sports Science and Leisure Management from the

University of Bedfordshire The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots from 1882, however, it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The Universi ...

. His younger brother,

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

, was also a professional footballer. He also owns a Luton-based company that sell footwear.

Playing career

Born in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

to parents from

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

, Abbey began his career with

Arlesey Town Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the and play at Hitchin Road. History The club was established ...

, before spending a season each at both Baldock Town and

Hitchin Town Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their fou ...

, before joining

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

in February 2000. He soon established himself in the Cambridge side, earning a £350,000 move to

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

in December 2000. However his time at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is an association football stadium located in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship side Norwich City. The stadium is located toward the east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. N ...

was marred by two career threatening knee injuries, causing him to miss most of the 2003–04 promotion season, though he was given a championship medal at the end of the season. He was given a three-month contract to prove his fitness at the start of the following season. He spent September 2004 on loan at

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

, playing alongside

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...

and scoring once against Chester City. He then moved to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their home ...

on a free transfer the following month. In November 2004 he moved to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

on a short-term deal. He made his debut for Bradford on 20 November against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

when he scored after just two minutes but received the first

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

of his career for violent conduct after a clash with

Deon Burton Deon John Burton (born 25 October 1976) is a football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker and who is the current Under-23's Manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. His numerous clubs in English footba ...

. His second game did not come for nearly a month because of suspension and he played a total of only six games before he was released by manager

Colin Todd Colin Todd (born 12 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, ...

. Abbey joined

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

on a month trial in January 2005 playing in the club's reserve side. Despite scoring against Sheffield United Reserves Abbey was not offered a contract. In March 2005 he moved to

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 ...

, but was released at the end of the 2004–05 season after one goal against

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

. He joined

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 ...

in August 2005, playing 26 times before being released in April 2006. He joined

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

in August 2006 in time for the start of the 2006–07

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...

season, but was released in November 2006. In January 2007 he signed for Barton Rovers He signed for

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

in November 2007. He was linked with a move to

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team i ...

in December 2008, but remained with Halesowen. At the start of the 2009–10 season, he returned to

where he was appointed player/assistant manager.

Management career

In June 2011, Abbey was appointed as the first team manager at Arlesey. In November 2013, Abbey moved with his brother

Nathan Abbey Nathanael "Nathan" Abbey (born 11 July 1978) is an English journeyman former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Luton Town Nathanael Abbey was born on 11 July 1978 in Islington, London, and began his football career as ...

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

as joint manager with Gary King. Abbey was re-appointed Arlesey Town manager in February 2015 as the replacement for Nick Ironton. He took on the title of joint manager alongside his brother

. The brothers left the club at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Honours

– First Division Championship

References

External links

*
Player profile
at Flown From The Nest {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbey, Zema 1977 births Living people Footballers from Luton English footballers Baldock Town F.C. players Hitchin Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players Barton Rovers F.C. players Halesowen Town F.C. players Arlesey Town F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players Association football forwards Sports scientists Alumni of the University of Bedfordshire English football managers St Neots Town F.C. managers Arlesey Town F.C. managers English people of Ghanaian descent English people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines descent Black British sportsmen