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 J ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-Israeli professional

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 Atlantic City Football Club (ACFC) is an American Association football, soccer team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 2017, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, NPSL . The team uses Stockton Universit ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, 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 ...

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 Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Adeleye attended high school at Newark Academy, 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 Sy ...

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 ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

player of the week. After college, Adeleye entered the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft wa ...

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 side Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Adeleye managed to impress manager

Guy Azouri Guy Azouri ( he, גיא עזורי; born 2 June 1963) is an Israeli football manager. He is currently the head coach of the Israeli National Women's Football team, and the head of the Israeli Women's Football Academy. After playing as a youth in ...

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. 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 Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

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 Shimon Harush ( he, שמעון הרוש; born 20 February 1987) is an Israeli footballer who currently plays for Maccabi Kiryat Ata. Career Harush started his career at the youth department of Hapoel Haifa. He first played in the Israeli Premie ...

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