sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Gbenga Tai "Ben" Folami (born 8 June 1999) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Melbourne Victory and the Australia national team.[2]

Ben Folami

Folami playing for Ipswich Town in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Gbenga Tai Folami[1]
Date of birth	(1999-06-08) 8 June 1999 (age 23)
Place of birth	Sydney, Australia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Club information
Current team	Melbourne Victory
Number	11
Youth career
2012–2014	Football NSW Institute
2014–2015	Sutherland Sharks
2015–2017	Ipswich Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2021	Ipswich Town	4	(0)
2020	→ Stevenage (loan)	2	(0)
2020–2021	→ Melbourne Victory (loan)	17	(3)
2021–	Melbourne Victory	27	(3)
National team‡
2018–2019	Australia U19	4	(1)
2019–	Australia U23	5	(1)
2022–	Australia	1	(0)
Honours Men's football Representing  Australia AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2020 Thailand U-23 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:30, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Ipswich Town

Born in Sydney, Folami joined Ipswich Town's academy in 2015, having previously played for the Football NSW Institute and the Sutherland Sharks at youth level.[3] After working his way through the youth system at Portman Road, he went on to make his full senior debut in a 2–1 defeat against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup second round on 22 August 2017.[4] He made his league debut for the club on 2 April 2018 in a 2–2 draw against Millwall.[5] In May 2018, Folami signed a new three-year contract at Ipswich until 2021.[6] On 14 January 2019, Folami tore his achilles tendon during an under-23 match against Cardiff City, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[7]

Following his recovery from injury Folami appeared for Ipswich’s under-23 side before returning to first-team action on 12 November 2019, starting in a 0–1 away loss to Colchester United in an EFL Trophy group stage match.[8]

Stevenage (loan)

On 31 January 2020, Folami signed for Stevenage on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.[9] He made his debut on 8 February, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 loss to Exeter City.[10] He made two substitute appearances for Stevenage before the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak.[11]

Return to Ipswich Town

He scored his first goal for Ipswich in an EFL Trophy tie against Gillingham on 6 October 2020.[12]

In April 2021, Ipswich announced that Folami would be released at the end of the 2020–21 season following the end of his contract.[13]

Melbourne Victory

On 28 October 2020, Folami joined Australian A-League side Melbourne Victory on loan until the end of the season.[14] He scored his first goal for Melbourne Victory in a 2–2 draw with Thai side Chiangrai United in the AFC Champions League on 30 November.[15] In July 2021, after being released by Ipswich Town, Folami signed a permanent two-year contract with Melbourne Victory.[16]

International career

Folami is of Nigerian descent.[17] In October 2018, he was called up to the Australia U19 squad to compete in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia.[18] He made 4 appearances during the tournament, scoring one goal, as the Young Socceroos exited the U-19 championships at the quarter-final stage. Folami impressed with his performances during the tournament, with Fox Sports describing him as "an absolute revelation" and stating that he had been "Australia's best player".[19]

Folami made his debut for the Australia U23 team in a 2–1 loss to Iran on 14 October 2019.[20] He scored his first goal for the under-23s while winning his second cap, appearing as a second-half substitute and scoring in a 5–1 victory over China on 15 November 2019.[21]

He debuted with the senior Australia national team in a 2–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification loss to Japan on 24 March 2022.[22]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 June 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ipswich Town	2017–18[23]	Championship	4	0	0	0	1	0	—		5	0
	2018–19[24]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2019–20[11]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	1	0
	2020–21[25]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	1	1	1
	Total		4	0	0	0	1	0	2	1	7	1
Stevenage (loan)	2019–20[11]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Melbourne Victory (loan)	2019–20[11]	A-League	0	0	—		—		5[lower-alpha 2]	1	5	1
	2020–21[25]		17	3	—		—		—		17	3
	Total		17	3	0	0	0	0	5	1	22	4
Career total			21	3	0	0	1	0	7	2	31	5

International

As of match played 24 March 2022[26]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Australia	2022	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

Club

Melbourne Victory

• FFA Cup: 2021

References

External links

• Ben Folami at Soccerbase

На других языках

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[de] Ben Folami

Gbenga Tai „Ben“ Folami (* 8. Juni 1999 in Sydney) ist ein australischer Fußballspieler.

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- [en] Ben Folami

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[it] Ben Folami

Gbenga Tai Folami, meglio noto come Ben Folami (Sydney, 8 giugno 1999), è un calciatore australiano, attaccante del Melbourne Victory e della nazionale australiana.

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