Edge Rewrite
location Source code View original
// request.cf · coarse context

A page that knows where it met you.

Only coarse request metadata is shown. This demo does not display or persist visitor IP addresses.

Country
US
Cloudflare location
CMH
Connection
HTTP/2
Language
Not provided

Ray ID: a26936f87e1cc69c

Jump to content

Blessing Eleke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blessing Eleke
Eleke playing for Kazincbarcika in 2025
Personal information
Full name Blessing Chibuike Eleke
Date of birth (1996-03-05) 5 March 1996 (age 30)
Place of birth Nigeria
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 Hamrun Spartans
Number 30
Youth career
–2014 Flying Sports Academy
2014 Gorica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Gorica 37 (15)
2016–2017 Olimpija Ljubljana 43 (10)
2017–2018 Ashdod 27 (4)
2018–2020 Luzern 58 (17)
2020–2022 Beerschot 22 (1)
2021–2022 → Gençlerbirligi SK (loan) 24 (7)
2022–2023 Kashima Antlers 6 (1)
2024 Istiklol 10 (6)
2025 Partizani Tirana 10 (3)
2025 Kazincbarcika 6 (0)
2026– Hamrun Spartans 12 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 May 2026

Blessing Eleke (born 5 March 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Maltese Premier League club Hamrun Spartans. He previously played for Gorica, Olimpija Ljubljana, Ashdod, Luzern, Beerschot, Gençlerbirligi, Kashima Antlers, Istiklol, Partizani Tirana and Kazincbarcika.

Professional career

[edit]

Early life and career

[edit]

Eleke grew up in Lagos with his three brothers and four sisters.[2] He started playing football at Flying Sports Academy in his home country, before having an unsuccessful trial at Serie A club Sassuolo.[2] Later on, he admitted that the transition from Nigeria to Europe was a difficult task to handle at the beginning.[2]

Slovenia

[edit]

Eleke signed for Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2016 for a reported fee of €750,000.[3] On 10 April 2016, in a league fixture versus Zavrč, Olimpija's manager Nikolić reportedly called Eleke a "black idiot", for elaborately celebrating an injury-time equalizer in an eventual 1–1 draw.[4] Nikolić's contract was eventually terminated by mutual consent on 18 April 2016.,[5][6] although Eleke asked club president Milan Mandarić not to sack the manager.[7] Eleke revealed that, although he considered leaving the club, he did not want to see his coach sacked, as he did not believe in eye for an eye.[3]

Israel and Switzerland

[edit]

In August 2017, Eleke transferred to Israeli Premier League club Ashdod for a reported fee of €800,000.[8] On 27 July 2018, Eleke signed a four-year contract with Swiss Super League club FC Luzern for a reported fee of approximately 1 million Swiss francs.[2][9] After being cleared to play for Luzern,[10] he managed to score on his debut, helping his club get past Lugano 4–2.[11]

Gençlerbirligi SK

[edit]

On 1 September 2021, Eleke was loaned out to Turkish club Gençlerbirligi SK for the rest of the season.

Kashima Antlers

[edit]

On 1 August 2022, Kashima Antlers confirmed an agreement with K Beerschot VA for him to join on a complete transfer, becoming one of the few Nigerian footballers to play in Japan.[12] Eleke only made 6 appearances for the club over two seasons and was released from the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2023 season.[13]

Istiklol

[edit]

On 21 March 2024, Tajikistan Higher League club Istiklol announced the signing of Eleke to a one-year contract.[14] On 20 April, Eleke scored a Hattrick for Istiklol in their 6-0 victory over Kuktosh Rudaki in the Tajikistan Higher League.[15]

Partizani Tirana

[edit]

On 23 January 2025, Partizani Tirana announced the signing of Eleke.[16]

Kazincbarcika

[edit]

On 10 September 2025, Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Kazincbarcikai SC announced the signing of Eleke.[17] On 18 November 2025, Kazincbarcikai announced that Eleke had left the club.[18]

Hamrun Spartans

[edit]

On 4 February 2026, Maltese Premier League club Hamrun Spartans announced the signing of Eleke.[19]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 15 May 2026 [20]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Gorica 2014–15 Slovenian PrvaLiga 17300--2[a]0193
2015–16 191210---2012
Total 361510----203915
Olimpija Ljubljana 2015–16 Slovenian PrvaLiga 12300---123
2016–17 30551-2[b]2-377
2017–18 3200-2[c]0-52
Total 451051--42--5412
Ashdod 2017–18 Israeli Premier League 2744200--316
Luzern 2018–19 Swiss Super League 321342-2[c]0-3815
2019–20 26421-4[c]0-325
Total 581763--60--7020
Beerschot 2020–21 Belgian Pro League 20110---211
2021–22 2000---20
Total 22110------231
Gençlerbirliği (loan) 2021–22 TFF First League 24700---247
Kashima Antlers 2022 J1 League 4100---41
2023 2000---20
Total 6100------61
Istiklol 2024[21] Tajikistan Higher League 10600-0[d]01[e]1117
Partizani Tirana 2024–25 Kategoria Superiore 10320---123
Kazincbarcika 2025–26 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 6022---82
Hamrun Spartans 2025–26 Maltese Premier League 12310--1[f]0143
Career total 25667228001024129278
  1. ↑ Appearances and goals in the PrvaLiga play-off
  2. ↑ Appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League
  3. 1 2 3 Appearances and goals in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ↑ Appearances and goals in the AFC Champions League Two
  5. ↑ Appearances and goals in the Tajik Supercup
  6. ↑ Appearance in the Maltese Super Cup

Honours

[edit]

Olimpija Ljubljana[2]

Istiklol

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Blessing Eleke" (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gutzwiller, Raphael (12 September 2018). "Blessing Eleke: Stürmer in Gottes Namen". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Eleke: I Almost Quit Olimpija After Being Called 'Black Idiot'". Complete Sports Nigeria. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Olimpija Ljubljana manager keeps job after calling own player 'black idiot'". The Daily Telegraph. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "Predsednik NK Olimpija Milan Mandarić pojasnil razloge za prekinitev sodelovanja z Markom Nikolićem". nkolimpija.si (in Slovenian). 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Epilog Nikolićeve neprimerne opazke: slovo od Olimpije" (in Slovenian). rtvslo.si. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Blessing Eleke: Olimpija forward 'begged' for coach to stay". BBC. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Blessing Eleke zapustil Olimpijo, ki je bogatejša za milijon evrov" (in Slovenian). Sio1NET. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  9. ↑ "Blessing Eleke wechselt zum FC Luzern" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "FCL-Stürmer Blessing Eleke darf spielen" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Eleke trifft bei seinem Debut für den FC Luzern" (in German). rontaler. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "ブレッシング エレケ選手の完全移籍加入クラブ間合意のお知らせ". antlers.co.jp (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "エレケ選手 契約満了のお知らせ | 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト". 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト | KASHIMA ANTLERS (in Japanese). 7 December 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "ВТОРОЙ ИЗ СТРАНЫ ВОСХОДЯЩЕГО СОЛНЦА! "ИСТИКЛОЛ" ПОДПИСАЛ СУЗУКИ!". t.me/s/fcistiklol2007 (in Tajik). FC Istiklol Telegram. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "Istiqlol Dushanbe 6-0 Kuktosh". soccer24.com. Soccer24. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  16. ↑ "𝐙𝐘𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄 🆕️ 𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐊𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐓 𝐈 𝐊𝐔𝐐". instagram.com/fkpartizani/?hl=en (in Albanian). FK Partizani Tirana. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  17. ↑ "Blessing Eleke a Kolorcity KBSC labdarúgója" [Eleke Blessing is a Kolorcity KBSC footballer]. kbsc.hu (in Hungarian). Kazincbarcikai SC Official Website. 10 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "Blessing Eleke távozott Kazincbarcikáról" [Blessing Eleke left Kazincbarcika]. kbsc.hu (in Hungarian). Kazincbarcikai SC Official Website. 18 November 2025.
  19. ↑ "Hamrun Spartans Football Club announces the signing of Blessing Eleke!". instagram.com/hamrunspartansfc/. Hamrun Spartans F.C. Instagram. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  20. ↑ Blessing Eleke at Soccerway
  21. ↑ 2024 FC Istiklol season
  22. ↑ ""ИСТИКЛОЛ" В ДВЕНАДЦАТЫЙ РАЗ ВЫИГРАЛ СУПЕРКУБОК ТАДЖИКИСТАНА". fft.tj (in Russian). Tajikistan Football Federation. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blessing_Eleke&oldid=1356359688"