Aribim Pepple

Aribim Pepple

Pepple in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel Pepple [1]
Date of birth	(2002-12-25) 25 December 2002 (age 21) [2]
Place of birth	Kettering, England
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) [2]
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Southend United (on loan from Luton Town)
Number	19
Youth career
	Oadby Owls
	Eastside Memorial FC
2018–2019	Calgary Foothills
2021	Getafe
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019	Calgary Foothills	11	(3)
2019–2020	Cavalry FC	13	(0)
2022	Cavalry FC	7	(6)
2022–	Luton Town	0	(0)
2022–2023	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	11	(0)
2023–2024	→ Bromley (loan)	6	(0)
2024	→ Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan)	13	(1)
2024–	→ Southend United (loan)	5	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 21, 2024

Aribusitamunoipirim Emmanuel "Aribim" Pepple (born 25 December 2002) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League side Southend United on loan from EFL Championship club Luton Town.

He has previously played for Calgary Foothills, Cavalry FC and for La Liga side Getafe. He made his EFL debut for Grimsby Town during a loan spell in the 2022–23 season. Born in England, he has previously been called up to the Nigeria U17 and Canada U17 teams but failed to earn a cap whilst part of both squads.

Early life

Pepple's father was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria while his mother was born in London, England. ^[3] He was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire in 2002. There he played for youth club Oadby Owls at age five. ^[3] He moved to Calgary, Canada with his family at the age of five. ^[4] In Canada, he played youth soccer with Eastside Memorial FC, ^[5] later joining Calgary Foothills FC.

Club career

Calgary Foothills

In October 2018, Pepple participated in the Canadian Premier League open trials in Calgary and was the youngest participant countrywide at 15, but nonetheless made the first cut after day one. ^{[6] [7]} In 2019, he joined the Calgary Foothills FC senior side in the Premier Development League, he made eleven league appearances for the Foothills, scoring three goals, and would score another goal in one playoff appearance. ^[8]

Cavalry FC

On 9 August 2019, Pepple signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC until the end of 2020. ^[4] On 10 August 2019, he made his debut as a substitute in a 0–0 draw against HFX Wanderers. ^{[9] [10]} Pepple would be described as "exactly what the Canadian Premier League is built for", and praised by coaching staff shortly after signing with the club for his physical and mental acuity. ^[11] In November 2019, Cavalry would confirm that Pepple would return for the 2020 season. ^[12]

In October 2020 Cavalry announced Pepple would join Premier League club Sheffield United on a two-week trial. ^[13] Shortly after the conclusion of his time at Sheffield, he was invited to another Premier League trial, this time with Leicester City. ^[14] In March 2021, Pepple would officially announce his departure from Cavalry via his Instagram, indicating that he had joined the youth side of La Liga club Getafe. ^[15]

Getafe

In March 2021, Pepple scored on his debut for Getafe's under-19 team. ^[16]

Second spell at Cavalry

On 28 April 2022, Pepple returned to Cavalry FC for the 2022 season. ^[17] In June and July he broke the Canadian Premier League record for longest goalscoring streak, with 6 goals in 5 matches. ^[18] On July 6, 2022 he was named the CPL's Player of the Month for June after becoming the first-ever player to score in five consecutive league matches. At the time he sat second in the league scoring race with six goals. ^[19] In July 2022 Cavalry confirmed that they had agreed to a transfer with an undisclosed club, rumoured to be Luton Town, indicating that he would leave the club during the transfer window. ^{[20] [21]}

Luton Town

On 2 August 2022, Pepple signed for EFL Championship club Luton Town for an undisclosed fee, returning to his country of birth. ^[22]

Loan to Grimsby Town

Six days after joining Luton, he was loaned out to Grimsby Town for the 2022–23 season. ^[23] The next day on 9 August Pepple made his debut for The Mariners, starting against Crewe Alexandra in a EFL Cup match. ^[24]

Pepple's loan was terminated by Grimsby on 12 January 2023, with manager Paul Hurst saying "Bim hasn’t had quite as many chances as he would have wished but I’d like to thank him for his time and his efforts with us. You have to remember that it’s a big move, coming over from Canada to Luton and then he very quickly joined us on loan. He’s a young player that hopefully we’ve helped develop to a degree and there’s still a lot more development to come for him". He had made 15 appearances in all competitions, failing to score a single goal. ^[25]

Return to Luton Town

On 7 February 2023, Pepple was involved in Luton's first team for the first time as he was named as a substitute against former team Grimsby Town in a 3-0 defeat in an FA Cup fourth round replay. ^[26]

Loan to Bromley

On 18 August 2023, Pepple joined Bromley on loan for the 2023–24 season. ^[27] On 31 October, he scored a brace in a 4-2 victory over Redbridge FC in the London Senior Cup. ^[28] On 8 January 2024, he was recalled from his loan by Luton Town, following limited playing time. ^[29]

Loan to Inverness Caledonian Thistle

On 1 February 2024, Pepple joined Scottish Championship club Inverness on loan until the end of the season. ^[30]

Loan to Southend

On 30 August 2024, Pepple signed for National League team Southend United on a season-long loan. ^[31]

International career

Pepple is eligible to represent Nigeria, England, or Canada after moving to the latter at the age of 5. He was called up to by the Nigeria national under-17 team in preparation for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup but ultimately decided to represent Canada. ^[32] In October 2019, Pepple was then called to the Canada national under-17 team for friendlies against Argentina and Mexico. ^[33]

Career statistics

As of September 21, 2024 ^[34]

Club	League	Season	League		Playoffs		Domestic Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Calgary Foothills	USL League Two	2019 [35]	11	3	1	1	—		—		12	4
Cavalry FC	Canadian Premier League	2019	7	0	1	0	1	0	—		9	0
		2020	6	0	—		—		—		6	0
		2022	7	6	0	0	1	0	—		8	6
	Total		20	6	1	0	2	0	0	0	23	6
Luton Town	EFL Championship	2022–23	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	0	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	EFL League Two	2022–23	11	0	—		0	0	4	0	15	0
Bromley (loan)	National League	2023–24	6	0	—		0	0	1	0	7	0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle (loan)	Scottish Championship	2023–24	13	1	3	1	1	0	0	0	17	2
Southend United (loan)	National League	2024–25	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
Career Total			66	12	5	2	3	0	4	0	77	14

Honours

Cavalry

• Canadian Premier League Finals runner-up: 2019
• Canadian Premier League (Regular season): Spring 2019, Fall 2019

References

1. "2023/24 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
2. "Aribim Pepple". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
3. Aribim Pepple at the Canadian Soccer Association
4. "Cavalry FC Signs Young Canadian Aribim Pepple". Cavalry FC. 8 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
5. @AlbertaSoccer (18 August 2016). "U14B" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. "Five players to watch heading into Day 2 of the #GotGame Open Trials in Alberta". Canadian Premier League. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
7. @CPLCavalry (26 October 2018). "Meet Aribim Pepple. Aribim is the youngest registered trialist in the whole country and he has advanced to the second day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. "Aribim Pepple 2019 PDL Stats". USL League Two. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
9. "A. Pepple". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
10. "Travel-burdened Cavalry FC earns draw in Halifax". Travel Wire News. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
11. Pamela Fieber (28 August 2019). "16-year-old enjoys 'much faster and more physical' level of play with Calgary's Cavalry FC". CBC.
12. "A strong core confirmed for Cavalry FC in 2020". Cavalry FC. 13 November 2019. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
13. "Cavalry's Aribim Pepple goes on trial with Premier League's Sheffield United". 5 October 2020.
14. Molinaro, John (20 October 2020). "Cavalry FC's Aribim Pepple on trial with Premier League's Leicester City". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
15. @a.pepple (7 March 2021). ""Happy to play and score in my first game with the team"" – via Instagram.
16. John Jacques (8 March 2021). "Pepple Scores On Getafe U-19 Debut". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
17. "Cavalry FC Welcomes Aribim Pepple (CAN) Back to the Roster". Cavalry FC. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
18. Jacques, John (1 July 2022). "Pepple Makes History With CPL Scoring Streak". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
19. "Cavalry FC's Aribim Pepple named CPL Player of the Month for June". Canadian Premier League. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
20. Todd Saelhof (26 July 2022). "Aribim Pepple leaving Cavalry at the transfer window". Calgary Sun.
21. Wayne Veysey (16 July 2022). "Sources: Luton Town agree deal to sign Aribim Pepple after hijack". Football Insider.
22. "Aribim Pepple signs for Luton Town!". www.lutontown.co.uk. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
23. "Pepple Signs on Season Long Loan - Grimsby Town Football Club". 8 August 2022.
24. "MATCH REPORT – GRIMSBY TOWN 4 – 0 CREWE ALEXANDRA". Grimsby Town . 9 August 2022.
25. "Pepple returns to Luton - Grimsby Town Football Club". 12 January 2023.
26. "Grimsby Town 3-0 Luton Town: League Two side shock Championship high-fliers in replay". BBC Sport. 7 February 2023.
27. "Aribim Pepple joins Bromley on loan". lutontown.co.uk. Luton Town. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
28. "Ravens progress to second round of London Senior Cup". Bromley F.C. 31 October 2023.
29. Jacques, John (8 January 2023). "Luton Town Recalls Pepple From Loan". Northern Tribune.
30. ICTFC MEDIA (1 February 2024). "Aribim Pepple Signs For ICTFC". ICTFC. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
31. fc, southend united (30 August 2024). "Striker Pepple Signs!". southend united fc. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
32. Roushandel, Massoud (12 March 2021). "18-year-old Dual National Aribim Pepple Signs with Agrinzonis Management Group". Agrinzonis Management Group. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
33. "Canada's Men's U-17 squad enters final stage before FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
34. Aribim Pepple at Soccerway
35. "Aribim Pepple 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two . Retrieved 27 August 2019.

External links

• Aribim Pepple at the Canadian Soccer Association
• Aribim Pepple at Soccerway
• Cavalry FC profile