Ibra Sekajja (born 31 October 1992) is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Ibra Sekajja
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-10-31) 31 October 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Mulago, Uganda[1][2]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Welling United
Number 8
Youth career
2007–2011 Crystal Palace
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Crystal Palace 2 (1)
2011Kettering Town (loan) 2 (0)
2011–2012Bromley (loan) 5 (0)
2012–2013Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 1 (0)
2013Barnet (loan) 4 (0)
2014 Inverness CT 4 (0)
2015 Livingston 11 (2)
2015–2016 Braintree Town 2 (0)
2016 Hemel Hempstead Town 14 (2)
2016–2017 Dulwich Hamlet 35 (12)
2017–2018 Bognor Regis Town 29 (7)
2018–2019 Havant & Waterlooville 14 (0)
2019 Gosport Borough 6 (2)
2019 Maidenhead United 4 (1)
2021–2022 Dulwich Hamlet 17 (5)
2022 AC Oulu 8 (2)
2023– Welling United 0 (0)
International career
2007 England U16 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:40, 2 March 2023 (UTC)

Club career

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Born in Uganda, he attended secondary school at Ashburton Community School from 2004 to 2009.

Ibra was first noticed by a scout from Crystal Palace, a Premier League club, for his footballing talent whilst playing during a match at Elmwood Primary School. His pace, technical skill, dribbling, height and striking were noticed at the age of 10.

Sekajja made his professional debut for Crystal Palace on 30 April 2011, in a fixture at Hull City. He scored a late 88th-minute equaliser with his first touch. Sekajja had dominated the pitch in the last few vital minutes of the match, ensuring a draw against Hull which secured Palace's safety in the Championship. He celebrated with a triple backflip.[3]

He was loaned to Kettering Town and Bromley midway through the 2011–12 season, to gain first team experience.
Milton Keynes Dons then signed Sekajja on loan on 7 November 2012. Manager Karl Robinson said of the move, "He's exactly what we need in the team at the moment – he is young, fearless and fast."[4] On 24 November 2012, he made his only appearance for the side, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Dean Bowditch in a 5–1 win against Colchester United[5][6]

On 10 January 2013, Sekajja joined Barnet on a one-month loan.[7] He made a winning start to his Barnet career, playing the whole game in an away 2–0 win against Rotherham United, on 12 January 2013.[8] Following his "impressive" debut, manager Edgar Davids said "I expect that he is going to be a great asset for the team. I hope he develops himself in the line that I think he can and he can become an important player for Barnet."[9]

At the end of his loan at Barnet, Sekajja returned to Crystal Palace but failed to feature again in the first team. He was eventually released by the club in May 2014.[10]

After a successful two-week trial, Sekajja signed for Scottish Premiership club Inverness CT in October 2014.[11] He made his debut for the team later that month, coming on as a substitute against St Mirren.[12] Sekajja left Inverness in January 2015, at the end of his short-term contract.[13]

On 16 January 2015, Sekajja signed for Scottish Championship club Livingston.[14]

Following spells with Braintree Town and Hemel Hempstead Town during the 2015–16 season, Sekajja joined Dulwich Hamlet of the Isthmian League Premier Division, making his debut in a 2–2 away draw with Enfield Town on 1 October 2016.[15] He finished his first season at the club scoring 17 goals in all competitions, including a first-half hat-trick against Enfield Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division play-off semi-final.[16] After 12 league goals for Dulwich in 2016–17, he joined Bognor Regis Town for 2017–18.[17] In 2018-19 Sekajja played for Havant & Waterlooville before joining Gosport Borough in March.[18][19]

Sekajja joined Maidenhead United in November 2019.[20] In January 2020, he went on trial at Grimsby Town.[21]

Sekajja re-joined Dulwich Hamlet in January 2021.[22]

On 15 August 2022, he signed with AC Oulu in Finland until the end of the season.[23]

International career

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Sekajja has been capped by England at U16 level. In August 2013, he was called up to the Uganda squad for a friendly against Egypt.[24] He did not play as he had yet to receive his Ugandan passport.[25]

Career statistics

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As of match played 2 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Crystal Palace 2010–11 Championship 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
2011–12 Championship 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2012–13 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
Kettering Town (loan) 2011–12 Conference Premier 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Bromley (loan) 2011–12 Conference South 3 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 4 0
Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 2012–13 League One 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Barnet (loan) 2012–13 League Two 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Inverness CT 2014–15 Scottish Premiership 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Livingston 2014–15 Scottish Championship 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2
Braintree Town 2015–16 National League 2 0 1 0 0 0 2[b] 0 5 0
Hemel Hempstead Town 2015–16[26] National League South 14 2 0 0 0 0 1[c] 0 15 2
Dulwich Hamlet 2016–17[27][28] Isthmian League Premier Division 35 12 0 0 0 0 15[d] 4 50 16
Bognor Regis Town 2017–18[26] National League South 29 7 1 0 0 0 5[e] 3 35 10
Havant & Waterlooville 2018–19 National League 14 0 1 0 0 0 5[f] 4 20 4
Gosport Borough 2018–19[19] SFL Premier Division South 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2
Maidenhead United 2019–20 National League 4 1 0 0 0 0 1[g] 0 5 1
Dulwich Hamlet 2020–21 National League South 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 National League South 11 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 5
Total 12 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 5
AC Oulu 2022[29] Veikkausliiga 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2
Career total 151 34 4 0 0 0 30 11 185 45
  1. ^ One appearance in the London Senior Cup
  2. ^ One appearance in the FA Trophy; one appearance in the Essex Senior Cup
  3. ^ One appearance in the Herts Senior Cup
  4. ^ Nine appearances in the FA Trophy; four appearances, one goal in the Alan Turvey Trophy; two appearances, three goals in the Isthmian League Premier Division play-offs
  5. ^ Four appearances, three goals in the FA Trophy; one appearance in the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
  6. ^ One appearance in the FA Trophy; one appearance, two goals in the Hampshire Senior Cup; three appearances, two goals in the Portsmouth Senior Cup
  7. ^ One appearance in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup

References

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  1. ^ Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2012). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2012–2013 (43rd ed.). London: Headline. p. 462. ISBN 978-0-7553-6356-8.
  2. ^ Ibra Sekajja at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  3. ^ "Hull 1 – 1 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. ^ "MK Dons sign Crystal Palace's Ibra Sekajja on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Loan MK Dons".
  6. ^ "MK Dons 5–1 Colchester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Barnet sign Crystal Palace forward Ibra Sekajja on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  8. ^ "Rotherham 0–2 Barnet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  9. ^ Newson, Adam. "Edgar Davids hopes Crystal Palace loanee Ibra Sekajja will become an important player for Barnet". times-series.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Crystal Palace: Gabbidon, Moxey & Parr among 12 players released". BBC Sport. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  11. ^ Inverness Caley sign ex-Palace striker Sekajja, BBC Sport
  12. ^ "St Mirren 0–1 Inverness". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Ibra training with Ross County". Southern Reporter. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  14. ^ "New striker signs on". Livingston F.C. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Ex-Palace Hero Joins Hamlet". Pitchero. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Dulwich Hamlet 4–2 Enfield Town". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  17. ^ Ibra Sekajja Signs On The Dotted Line
  18. ^ New Signings – Ibra Sekajja Joins The BORO'
  19. ^ a b "Ibra Sekajja: 2018/2019 Biog & Stats". Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  20. ^ New Signing | Ibra is a Magpie
  21. ^ Ian Holloway faces 'problem' over Grimsby Town trialist Ibra Sekajja
  22. ^ @DulwichHamletFC (16 January 2021). "WELCOME BACK IBRA!The club are pleased to announce the return of Ibra Sekajja.Who could forget that legendary E…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "IBRA SEKAJJA SAAPUU LAIVOSTONSINISIIN" (in Finnish). AC Oulu. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  24. ^ Old brooms recalled, Uspa reward Cranes
  25. ^ Sekajja's Cranes Debut Delayed Over Passport Hitch
  26. ^ a b "Ibra Sekajja Profile | Aylesbury United FC".
  27. ^ "Ibra Sekajja – Dulwich Hamlet Football Club First XI".
  28. ^ "Dulwich Hamlet | Appearances | Ibra Sekajja | 2016-2017 | Football Web Pages".
  29. ^ "Games played by Ibra Sekajja in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
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