Bright Sodje
Bright Ojamohare Sodje (born 21 April 1966) is a retired dual-code rugby player, who played for rugby league clubs; the Wakefield Trinity (Wildcats), Hull Kingston Rovers, and the Sheffield Eagles in England as well as rugby union for Wakefield RFC.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Bright Sodje | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 April 1966 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 22 May 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sodje's brothers, Sam, Efe, Akpo, Steve, and his nephew, Onome, have all played professional football in England.
Bright was a winger with a reputation for scoring tries, and noted for his aeroplane style celebration.
Financial Crisis at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
In 2000, at the height of a financial crisis at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, the contracts of all players aged over 24 were terminated during September 2000. The players affected were; Andy Fisher, Bobbie Goulding, Warren Jowitt, Tony Kemp (player-coach), Steve McNamara, Francis Maloney, Martin Masella, Steve Prescott, Bright Sodje, Francis Stephenson and Glen Tomlinson.[1]
Personal life
In September 2017, Bright was sentenced to 21 months in prison for fraud, having – with his brothers Efe and Stephen – siphoned off money from a charity, the Sodje Sports Foundation.[2]
His son, Tai, is a professional footballer, and currently plays for the academy team of Manchester City.[3]
References
- "Goodway calls for aid package". BBC Sport. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- "Efe, Bright and Stephen Sodje jailed for fraud last September, court reveals". Sky News. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- Bajkowski, Simon (23 March 2021). "'I think I've opened up to different ways of playing': Man City academy striker Tai Sodje is firing his way to goals target". manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2023.