Erhun Obanor

Erhun Obanor (born 5 September 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Saudi First Division League club Al-Ain.

Erhun Obanor
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-09-05) 5 September 1995
Place of birth Benin City, Nigeria
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Al-Ain
Number 3
Youth career
0000–2012 BJ Foundation Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 BJ Foundation Academy
2012–2013 → COD United (loan)
2013–2015 → Bendel Insurance (loan)
2014–2015 → Abia Warriors (loan)
2016 → MFM (loan)
2016–2018 Greuther Fürth 0 (0)
2018–2019 Rudeš 23 (0)
2019–2020 Kukësi 26 (0)
2020–2021 Laçi 27 (0)
2021–2022 Istra 1 (0)
2022 → PAEEK (loan) 9 (0)
2022–2023 Proodeftiki 9 (0)
2023 Tirana 0 (0)
2023– Al-Ain 0 (0)
International career
2014– Nigeria U23 11 (0)
2014– Nigeria 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 June 2023

Club career

A native of Benin City, Obanor is a product of the BJ Foundation Academy.[1] He was loaned out at the start of the 2012-2013 season to the second-tier side COD United F.C.[2] Mid-2013, he was loaned on to top-tier side Bendel Insurance.,[3] playing a season there before being sub-loaned to Abia Warriors F.C. until November 2015.[4] In January 2016, Obanor signed a 3.5-year long contract with the Tunisian greats Club Africain, but had to cancel it and return to Nigeria because of dubious transfer fee reasons.[5] In April 2016, he was loaned on by BJ Academy to MFM F.C.[6]

Obanor moved abroad, however, already in July 2017, signing for SpVgg Greuther Fürth in Germany,[7] joining the team in September of the same year, following the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7] However, he didn't break into the team, and found himself unable to get any playing time, his nationality preventing him from playing for the reserves.[8] His contract was finally rescinded in the summer of 2018, and he moved to NK Rudeš in Croatia.[9]

After two years playing in Albania for Kukësi and KF Laçi, Obanor returned to Croatia to sign for Istra in June 2021.[10]

Having only accumulated a single league appearance for the Croatian side in 2021, Obanor was sent in January 2022 on loan to the Cypriot First Division side PAEEK until the end of the season.[11]

On 1 August 2023, Obanor joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Ain.[12]

International career

Obanor was a member of the Nigeria national football team.[13] He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[14]

References
  1. "3 Former Stars Of Grassroots Club BJ Foundation Set To Help Nigeria Beat Zambia This Weekend". Nigeria: Daily Sports. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. COD UNITED FC – PLAYER STATISTICS at West African Football
  3. Warriors, BJ Foundation battle over Obanor at tvcontinental.tv
  4. U23 star Obanor disowns Abia Warriors •Documents show BJ Academy’s ownership of the player at News Express Nigeria
  5. Dream Team VI Star Erhun Obanor Set To Bid Farewell To Club Africain at AllNigeriaSoccer.com
  6. Exclusive: Nigeria U23s Defender Obanor Joins MFM FC After Botched Move To Club Africain at AllNigeriaSoccer.com
  7. Fürth holt Verstärkung für Abwehr at sport1.de
  8. Greuther Fürth: Erhun Obanor und Stephen Sama auf der Streichliste at liga-zwei.de
  9. Iz njemačkog drugoligaša Greuther Furtha u Rudeš stigao Erhun Obanor koji ima dva nastupa za reprezentaciju Nigerije at Sportnews.hr
  10. "Erhun Obanor is a new NK Istra 1961 player!". NK Istra 1961. 11 June 2021.
  11. OD 12. DO 22. SIJEČNJA NA "ARENA CUPU": "Zeleno-žuti" u grupi sa Šibenikom, Žarkovom i Forestom at Glas Istre
  12. "المدافع النيجيري الدولي ، اوبانور ، عيناويا".
  13. "Erhun Obanor - Goal.com". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  14. Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.