Kennedy Igboananike

Kennedy Igboananike (born 26 February 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swedish club IFK Haninge.[1]

Kennedy Igboananike
Igboananike playing for AIK
Personal information
Full name Chibuike Kennedy Igboananike
Date of birth (1989-02-26) 26 February 1989
Place of birth Nri-Igbo, Nigeria
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
IFK Haninge
Youth career
2006 Dynamo Football Academy
2007 Djurgårdens IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Djurgårdens IF 2 (0)
2008–2009 Vasalund 51 (30)
2010–2012 Djurgårdens IF 60 (15)
2013–2014 AIK 55 (19)
2015–2016 Chicago Fire 49 (11)
2016 D.C. United 7 (1)
2017 Veria 0 (0)
2017–2019 Örebro SK 47 (18)
2019 Al-Hazm 15 (4)
2020 IK Sirius 4 (0)
2021 IFK Mariehamn 19 (1)
2022– IFK Haninge 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:03, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

Career

Sweden

Igboananike began his career with Dynamos Football Academy. He joined Djurgårdens IF in 2007 but only played twice during his time at the club. He played his first game on 19 June 2007 against Hammarby IF.[2] He moved on trial to IK Brage but was not signed.[3] In January 2008 he was contracted with Vasalunds IF and went on to become the top scorer of the Division 1 Norra in 2008.[3]

As of the 2010 season he returned to Djurgården.[4] He scored in his comeback away against BK Häcken, when he equalized the score to 1–1 in the match which Djurgården ultimately lost 2–1. Igboananike was Djurgården's top scorer in the 2010 season, scoring nine goals in 27 games.[5]

On 15 November 2012, Stockholm rivals AIK announced they had signed a three-year deal with Igboainanike. He got the number 21 jersey, because the number 7 was occupied by midfielder Helgi Daníelsson. During one of Kennedy's first games, against Gefle IF he scored a 96th-minute winner for his new club.

Chicago Fire

Igboananike signed with Chicago Fire SC of Major League Soccer on 2 December 2014 to a Designated Player contract.[6] Igboananike scored his first goal for Chicago on 30 May 2015, in a 3–0 win against the Montreal Impact. His goal against the Philadelphia Union on 2 April 2016 lead to Chicago's first win in the 2016 season.[7] He played with the Fire during the 2015 season and into the first half of the 2016 season.

D.C. United

D.C. United acquired Igboananike on 29 July 2016 in an exchange with the Fire, trading targeted allocation money and a third-round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.[8] Igboananike made his debut with his new club two days later in a 1–1 draw with Montreal Impact. He scored his only goal for D.C. United against Orlando City SC on October 23, 2016. He scored in the 77th minute, the goal was assisted by Julian Büscher and the game ended in a 2–4 defeat.[9]

Igboananike's option was declined by United at the end of the 2016 season. His rights were then traded to Portland Timbers in exchange for a 2017 MLS SuperDraft pick.[10] Igboananike played a total of seven league games for United, and scored only one goal.[11]

Greece

On 7 February 2017, Igboananike joined Superleague Greece side Veria on a contract until the end of the 2016–17 season.[12]

Return to Sweden

On 6 March 2017, only 1 month after he had signed for Veria, Igboananike signed for Swedish club Örebro on a free transfer.

Saudi Arabia

On 9 January 2019, Al-Hazm has signed Kennedy for one seasons from Örebro.[13] He was left without a club on 1 July, 2019.

IK Sirius

Igboananike joined Swedish club, IK Sirius on January 17, 2020.

In March 2021, Igboananike joined Tajikistan Higher League club Istiklol on trial.[14]

IFK Mariehamn

Following his trial with Istiklol, Igboananike signed for IFK Mariehamn on 19 March 2021.[15]

IFK Haninge

On 15 March 2022, Igboananike returned to Sweden once again and signed with IFK Haninge in the third-tier Ettan Norra for the 2022 season, with an option to extend for 2023.[16]

Career statistics

As of 15 October 2017.[1]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Club SeasonLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Sweden League Svenska Cupen Europa League Total
Djurgårdens IF 2007Allsvenskan200020
Vasalunds IF 2008Division 125182518
2009Superettan26122612
Djurgårdens IF 2010Allsvenskan27910289
2011 Allsvenskan28621307
2012 Allsvenskan500050
AIK 2013 Allsvenskan2914323216
2014 Allsvenskan2652031316
Örebro SK 2017 Allsvenskan23900218
United States League US Open Cup Champions League Total
Chicago Fire 2015Major League Soccer31732349
2016Major League Soccer18430214
D.C. United 2016Major League Soccer710071
Greece League Greek Cup Champions League Total
Veria 2016–17Superleague Greece000000
Career total 245841453126290

Honours

Individual

References

  1. Kennedy Igboananike at Soccerway
  2. "Hammarby IF – Djurgården" (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF Fotboll. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  3. "Igboananike vill bli Superettans skyttekung" (in Swedish). Svenskfotboll. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  4. "Djurgården värvar tillbaka jättetalangen" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 15 December 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  5. "Kennedy stannar i Djurgården" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 24 November 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  6. "NEWS: Chicago Fire Sign Nigerian Forward Kennedy Igboananike". Chicago Fire. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. Santaromita, Dan (2 April 2016). "Kennedy Igboananike goal leads Fire to first win of season". nbcsports.com. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  8. "United acquire Kennedy Igboananike from Chicago Fire". Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  9. "GOAL: Kennedy Igboananike grabs his first for D.C. United".
  10. "Portland Timbers acquire rights to Kennedy Igboananike before declining his contract option". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  11. "Kennedy Igboananike". Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  12. "Ποδοσφαιριστής της 'Βασίλισσας' ο Kennedy Igboananike". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  13. Al-Hazm is officially signed by Kennedy Igboananike
  14. "На сбор Истиклола прибыл нападающий из Швеции". fc-istiklol.tj/ (in Russian). FC Istiklol. 6 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  15. "Kennedy Igboananike klar för Grönvitt". ifkfotboll.ax/ (in Swedish). IFK Mariehamn. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  16. "Officiellt: Igboananike klar för IFK Haninge" (Press release) (in Swedish). IFK Haninge. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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