James Igbekeme

James Igbekeme
Igbekeme with Wisła Kraków in 2025
Personal information
Full name James Omonigho Igbekeme
Date of birth (1995-07-04) 4 July 1995 (age 31)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Wisła Kraków
Number 12
Youth career
Ribeirão
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Ribeirão 43 (2)
2015–2017 Oliveirense 55 (10)
2017–2018 Gil Vicente 32 (5)
2018–2023 Zaragoza 96 (4)
2022 → Columbus Crew (loan) 23 (0)
2023 → Wisła Kraków (loan) 14 (1)
2023–2024 Ponferradina 31 (1)
2024–2025 Wisła Kraków 28 (0)
2025– Wisła Kraków 36 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 20:38, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

James Omonigho Igbekeme (born 4 July 1995) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Polish Ekstraklasa club Wisła Kraków.

Career

Portugal

Born in Lagos, Igbekeme left his hometown at the age of 18 to join Portuguese third division side G.D. Ribeirão in the 2013–14 season. In 2015, he moved to fellow league team U.D. Oliveirense.

In June 2017, Igbekeme signed for LigaPro side Gil Vicente F.C. He made his professional debut on 6 August, starting and scoring the winner in a 2–1 away defeat of FC Porto B.

On 28 October 2017, Igbekeme scored a brace in a 4–0 home routing of S.L. Benfica B. He finished the campaign with five goals in 32 appearances, but his side eventually suffered relegation.

Real Zaragoza

In June 2018, Igbekeme was transferred to Segunda División side Real Zaragoza for a reported €150,000, signing a four-year deal with the club. He made his debut in August on the first matchday of the season, a 2–1 home victory over Rayo Majadahonda. Igbekeme scored his first goal for Los Blanquillos on 8 September against Real Oviedo. On 18 June 2020, it was announced that Igbekeme had signed a contract extension, keeping him with Zaragoza until 2023. Initially a regular starter, he gradually started to feature more sparingly due to injuries and loss of form.

Loans

In January 2022, Igbekeme signed a contract extension and was subsequently loaned to Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew until December, with Columbus holding an option to exercise a permanent transfer. After completing one season stateside, his purchase option was declined and he returned to Spain. However, new Zaragoza manager Fran Escribá did not see a place for Igbekeme in the squad, and sent Igbekeme on loan to Polish side Wisła Kraków in late February 2023. Igbekeme would make 14 appearances and score one goal for the club.

Ponferradina

On 10 August 2023, he terminated his contract with Zaragoza and signed a contract with SD Ponferradina. On 12 November, Igbekeme scored a free-kick goal in his team's 1-0 win against Rayo Majadahonda.

Return to Wisła

On 19 August 2024, Igbekeme re-joined Wisła Kraków, this time permanently, on a deal until the end of the season. On 11 June 2025, Wisła announced Igbekeme would leave the club at the end of the month. After being linked with Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza and Śląsk Wrocław, Igbekeme re-signed with Wisła on 16 July 2025.

Style of play

Noted as a versatile player able to play multiple midfield positions as well as out wide on the wing, Igbekeme has described himself as a player who "works hard, enjoys putting in effort, and always likes to help the team."

Honours

Wisła Kraków

References

  1. ↑ "James Igbekeme: 100 partidos con el Real Zaragoza". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 3 December 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Myers, Jacob (11 May 2022). "James Igbekeme bet on himself at every step of pro career. Now he wants to stay in Columbus". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "Gil Vicente começa trabalhos em campo com cinco novidades" [Gil Vicente start working on the field with five novelties] (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Gil Vicente abre a Liga a vencer fora o FC Porto B" [Gil Vicente open the League by beating FC Porto B away] (in Portuguese). Barcelos na Hora. 6 August 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Gil Vicente volta às vitórias ao golear Benfica B" [Gil Vicente back to winning ways after thrashing Benfica B] (in Portuguese). Diário de Notícias. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  6. ↑ "James Igbekeme, nuevo jugador del Real Zaragoza" [James Igbekeme, new player of Real Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Valero, S. (17 January 2022). "James Igbekeme rechaza ir al Moreirense y se va a la MLS de Estados Unidos". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Estreno oficial bajo el embrujo de La Romareda". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "James Igbekeme se estrena como goleador esta temporada". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 19 February 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "James Igbekeme renueva su contrato hasta 2023". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 18 June 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  11. ↑ GAY-POBES TENA, MIGUEL (26 January 2022). "La salida de Igbekeme al Columbus Crew ya es oficial". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Columbus Crew acquires midfielder James Igbekeme on loan from Real Zaragoza". ColumbusCrew.com. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Ferrer, Pedro Luis (17 January 2023). "La pesada herencia de Torrecilla". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  14. ↑ Miga, Mateusz (19 April 2023). "James Igbekeme: chętnie zostanę w Wiśle na dłużej". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "James Igbekeme wypożyczony do Wisły Kraków" (in Polish). Wisła Kraków. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "James Igbekeme, cedido al Wisla de Cracovia". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 22 February 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Finaliza la relación contractual entre el Real Zaragoza y James Igbekeme" [Ends the contractual relationship between Real Zaragoza and James Igbekeme] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "James Igbekeme se incorpora a la SD Ponferradina". www.sdponferradina.com (in Spanish). 10 August 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  19. ↑ "SD Ponferradina 1 - CF Rayo Majadahonda 0". www.sdponferradina.com (in Spanish). 13 November 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "James Igbekeme zawodnikiem Wisły Kraków" (in Polish). Wisła Kraków. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  21. ↑ Galiński, Tomasz (16 July 2025). "Koniec przedziwnej sagi z udziałem Igbekeme. Jest oficjalny komunikat". sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  22. ↑ ""Es un privilegio y un reto estar en Zaragoza"". www.realzaragoza.com (in Spanish). 10 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  23. ↑ Skowron, Grzegorz (11 May 2026). "Wisła Kraków mistrzem 1 ligi! Już wcześniej zapewniła sobie awans do ekstraklasy". krknews.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 12 May 2026.