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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joshua Oghene Ochukwu Akpudje | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newroz | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Femmak Football Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | MFM | 29 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Daugavpils | 44 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Panevėžys (loan) | 22 | (1) |
| 2022–2023 | Jablonec | 14 | (0) |
| 2024 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 9 | (0) |
| 2024 | Ilves | 10 | (0) |
| 2025 | Istiklol | 12 | (1) |
| 2025 | KTP | 8 | (0) |
| 2026– | Newroz | 17 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2019 | Nigeria U23 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 April 2026 | |||
Joshua Oghene-Ochuko Akpudje (born 23 July 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Newroz SC.[1]
Early career
[edit]Born in Lagos, Akpudje started his football career with Femmak Football Academy straight out of high school before joining Nigerian Professional Football League side MFM ahead of the abridged season in 2019.
Club career
[edit]On 3 March 2020, Akpudje completed a transfer to Latvian club BFC Daugavpils[2]
After playing for two seasons in Latvia, Akpudje moved to Lithuanian side FK Panevėžys[3][4] on loan in February 2022.
On 12 February 2024, Akpudje signed a two-year contract, with the option of a third, with Dinamo Tbilisi.[5]
On 11 July 2024, he moved to Finland after signing with Ilves in Veikkausliiga.[6] He left club after the season, in which Ilves finished 2nd in the league.
On 24 February 2025, Tajikistan Higher League club Istiklol announced the signing of Akpudje to a one-year contract.[7] On 19 July 2025, Istiklol announced the departure of Akpudje by mutual consent.[8]
On 22 July, Akpudje returned to Finland and signed with Veikkausliiga club KTP for the remainder of the 2025 season.[9]
International career
[edit]Akpudje made his international debut for Nigeria U23 side in March 2019 against Libya [10] in an Africa U-23 Cup of Nations qualification game.
Career statistics
[edit]- As of match played 22 June 2025
| Club | Season | Division | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| MFM | 2019 | NPFL | 10 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2019–20 | NPFL | 19 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 19 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
| Daugavpils | 2020 | Virslīga | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 24 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Virslīga | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | Virslīga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| Panevėžys (loan) | 2022 | A Lyga | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 2[b] | 0 | – | 25 | 1 | ||
| Jablonec | 2022–23 | Czech First League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| Jablonec B | 2022–23 | ČFL | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Dinamo Tbilisi | 2024 | Erovnuli Liga | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Ilves | 2024 | Veikkausliiga | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | |
| Istiklol | 2025 | Tajikistan Higher League | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 0[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| KTP | 2025 | Veikkausliiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 142 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 154 | 1 | ||
- ↑ Includes Latvian Cup, Lithuanian Cup, Czech Cup, Finnish Cup and Tajikistan Cup
- 1 2 Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- ↑ Appearances in AFC Champions League Two
- ↑ Appearances in Tajik Supercup
Honours
[edit]Ilves
- Veikkausliiga runner-up: 2024[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ Joshua Akpudje at Soccerway
- ↑ Umeh, Azu (3 March 2020). "MFM FC Defender Joshua Akpudje Seals Move To Latvian Side". The Busy Buddies. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ ""Panevėžyje" – nuomos pagrindais atvykstantis gynėjas iš Nigerijos". 15min.lt/sportas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ↑ ""Panevėžys" sustiprino gynybos grandį". sportas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ↑ "დინამომ ორი ფეხბურთელი დაიმატა". fcdinamo.ge (in Georgian). FC Dinamo Tbilisi. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ↑ Ilves ja Joshua Akpudje pelaajasopimukseen, ilvesfootball.com, 11 July 2024
- ↑ "ТАҚВИЯТИ ХАТИ МУҲОФИЗАТ ИДОМА ДОРАД!". t.me/fcistiklol2007 (in Tajik). FC Istiklol Telegram. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ↑ ""Istiklol" Terminates Contract with Joshua Akpudje". t.me/fcistiklol2007 (in Tajik). FC Istiklol Telegram. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
- ↑ Akpudjen terveiset faneille: "Yhteinen haaste", fcktp.fi, 22 July 2025
- ↑ "Nigeria's Olympic Eagles lose 0-2 to Libya in first leg of 2019 AFCON U-23 qualifier". Pulse Nigeria. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Ilveksen päävalmentaja hopeasta: ”Voitettu mitali”, Yle, 19 October 2024
- 1998 births
- Footballers from Lagos
- Living people
- Nigerian men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- MFM F.C. players
- BFC Daugavpils players
- FK Panevėžys players
- FK Jablonec players
- FC Dinamo Tbilisi players
- Ilves (football) players
- FC Istiklol players
- Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat players
- Nigeria Professional Football League players
- Latvian Higher League players
- A Lyga players
- Czech First League players
- Erovnuli Liga players
- Veikkausliiga players
- Tajikistan Higher League players
- Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Latvia
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Latvia
- Expatriate men's footballers in Lithuania
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania
- Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
- Expatriate men's footballers in Georgia (country)
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Georgia (country)
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
- Expatriate men's footballers in Finland
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Tajikistan
- Expatriate men's footballers in Tajikistan
- 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen