Abdu Lumala (born 21 July 1997) is a Ugandan professional footballer who plays as a forward for I-League club Gokulam Kerala and the Uganda national team.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 July 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Uganda | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gokulam Kerala | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Gualövs GoIF[1] | ||
| 2014–2015 | Mjällby AIF[1] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | Mjällby AIF | 24 | (3) |
| 2016–2019 | Kalmar FF | 10 | (0) |
| 2017 | → Varbergs BoIS | 10 | (1) |
| 2017 | → Helsingborgs IF (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2018 | → IFK Värnamo (loan) | 22 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Syrianska FC (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Pyramids | 4 | (0) |
| 2022–2024 | Vipers SC | 16 | (2) |
| 2024 | Slaven Belupo | 4 | (0) |
| 2024– | Gokulam Kerala | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2019– | Uganda | 6 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editEarly years
editAbdu grew up with his grandmother in the village of Kataba since his mother had died when he was just a few months old and since the father was unknown.[3] When he was 10 he was given a Henrik Larsson-shirt as a birthday present by his aunt. In hope of receiving a better life his grandmother sent him away to the capital Kampala when he was 16. Abdu took many jobs, mostly washing cars before he met a few white Europeans who managed to get him on a plane to Sturup Airport.
Sweden
editHe was left alone on the streets of Malmö and there he contacted Migrationsverket. They managed to get accommodation for Abdu in the little town of Bromölla. There he started training with the local club Ifö/Bromölla playing in the Swedish 5th tier, but after not managing to find any football shoes he and a friend moved to 9th tier side Gualövs GoIF. He was instantly made captain and after scoring 20 goals in 10 games big local club Mjällby AIF signed him in the summer of 2014. He played the rest of the year with the U17s and U19s. Before the next season Abdu was moved up to the A-Team playing in Swedish second division Superettan. He impressed, scoring 3 goals in 24 games being only 17 when the season started. The rumours of his talent spread and clubs like Malmö FF and Olympiacos wanting to sign him.
Kalmar FF
editAbdu instead ended up in Swedish top flight club Kalmar FF. In his first season, he played 10 league matches.
Loans
editAhead of the 2017 season Abdu was loaned out to Superettan club Varbergs BoIS. After half a season with the club, he returned to Kalmar FF just to be loaned out once again, this time to his idol Henrik Larsson's mother club Helsingborgs IF. He made his debut in a game against GAIS. At the back of Abdu's shirt it says "Lumalinho".[4]
Pyramids FC
editIn July 2019, Abdu joined Egyptian Premier League club Pyramids FC where he linked up with former Uganda coach Sébastien Desabre.[5]
Slaven Belupo
editOn 27 March 2024, Abdu returned to Europe and signed a contract with the Croatian club Slaven Belupo.[6]
Gokulam Kerala
editIn July 2024, Abdu joined Indian I-League club Gokulam Kerala.[7]
International career
editHe made his Uganda national team debut as a starter on 9 June 2019, in a 0–0 friendly tie versus Turkmenistan.[8][9]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 16 July 2019[2]
| Club | Season | League | Cups | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gualövs GoIF | 2014 | Division 7 Blekinge | 10 | 20 | – | – | – | 10 | 20 | |||
| Mjällby AIF | 2015 | Superettan | 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |
| Kalmar FF | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 10 | 0 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 15 | 2 | ||
| Varbergs BoIS (loan) | 2017 | Superettan | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| Helsingborgs IF (loan) | 2017 | Superettan | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | 10 | 1 | |||
| IFK Värnamo (loan) | 2017 | Superettan | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| Syrianska FC (loan) | 2019 | Superettan | 9 | 1 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 95 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 109 | 29 | ||
International
edit- As of matches played on 16 July 2019[10]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | 2019 | 6 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Föräldralös och övergiven nytt superlöfte, svenskelitfotboll.se, 21 May 2015
- ^ a b Abdu Lumala at Soccerway
- ^ "Föräldralös och övergiven nytt superlöfte". svenskelitfotboll.se. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Det är en saga" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Wagih, Ahmed (31 July 2019). "Pyramids sign Ibrahim Hassan, Lumala Abdu". KingFut. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Abdu Lumala novi je igrač Slaven Belupa" [Abdu Lumala is the new player of Slaven Belup] (in Croatian). Slaven Belupo. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Player profile :: Lumala Abdu :: Transfers". BeSoccer. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Uganda v Turkmenistan game report". National Football Teams. 9 June 2019.
- ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "National Team & Club Appearances: Abdu Lumala". national-football-teams.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Abdu Lumala at National-Football-Teams.com
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