Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 4 July 1997 | ||
Place of birth | Valletta, Malta | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1] | ||
Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Floriana | ||
Number | 22 | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2017 | St. Andrews | 82 | (14) |
2017–2021 | Valletta | 75 | (12) |
2021 | → St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 8 | (0) |
2022– | Floriana | 27 | (1) |
2023 | → Saint Lucia (loan) | 8 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
Malta U17 | |||
2017– | Malta | 31 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 April 2024 |
Kyrian Nwoko (born 4 July 1997) is a Maltese professional footballer who plays as a winger and forward for Floriana and the Malta national team. He has previously played for Maltese clubs St. Andrews & Valletta, as well as Irish club St Patrick's Athletic.
He is the son of the Nigerian-born former Malta international footballer Chucks Nwoko. [2]
In July 2014, Nwoko was linked with a possible transfer to English clubs Huddersfield Town and Crystal Palace. [3] He moved from St. Andrews to Valletta in June 2017. [2] In July 2021, he was linked with a move to NIFL Premiership side Linfield. [1] Following a transfer fee being agreed between the two clubs, the transfer was held up due to issues obtaining a work permit under new Brexit regulations. [4] On 27 July 2021, Valletta announced that they had agreed a deal with League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic for Nwoko to move on a 6-month loan deal with the option to make the transfer permanent. [5] The transfer was completed on 28 July 2021, [6] with Nwoko becoming the second striker to sign for the club on that day, after Reading's Nahum Melvin-Lambert. [7] Nwoko made his debut for the club on 30 July 2021, coming off the bench in the 87th minute of the Dublin derby away to Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium. [8] On 28 November 2021 Nwoko was an unused substitute in the 2021 FAI Cup Final, as his side defeated rivals Bohemians 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in front of a record FAI Cup Final crowd of 37,126 at the Aviva Stadium. [9] On 31 August 2022, Nwoko returned to football after 9 months out of the game, returning to Malta and signing for Floriana. [10] On 27 January 2023, he signed for Saint Lucia on loan until the end of the season. [11]
He made two appearances for Malta at the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. [12] He made his senior national team debut in November 2017 in the 0–3 defeat against Estonia. [13] On 23 March 2019, Nwoko scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Faroe Islands, as Malta won their first competitive home match in 13 years. [14] In January 2022, Nwoko accused the Malta national team selectors of 'unfair' treatment over allegedly not being selected for the team due to his refusal to take a COVID-19 vaccine when the squad were asked to take a Johnson & Johnson vaccine in May 2021 ahead of their departure to a training camp in Austria. [15] In November 2022, Nwoko returned to the national team, accepting his call up for the friendly games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland. [16]
Club | Season | League | National Cup [lower-alpha 1] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
St. Andrews | 2013–14 | Maltese Challenge League | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
2014–15 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
2015–16 | Maltese Premier League | 27 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 [lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 30 | 6 | ||
2016–17 | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 4 | ||||
Total | 82 | 14 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 87 | 15 | |||
Valletta | 2017–18 | Maltese Premier League | 26 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 34 | 8 | |
2018–19 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 [lower-alpha 4] | 0 | 1 [lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 29 | 2 | ||
2019–20 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 [lower-alpha 6] | 0 | 1 [lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 19 | 3 | ||
2020–21 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 [lower-alpha 3] | 0 | — | 17 | 2 | |||
Total | 75 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 15 | ||
St Patrick's Athletic (loan) | 2021 | LOI Premier Division | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||
Floriana | 2022–23 | Maltese Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 [lower-alpha 5] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
2023–24 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
Total | 27 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
Saint Lucia (loan) | 2022–23 | Maltese Premier League | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 [lower-alpha 7] | 1 | 10 | 3 | |
Career total | 200 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 238 | 35 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Malta | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
2018 | 3 | 0 | |
2019 | 9 | 1 | |
2020 | 4 | 2 | |
2021 | 3 | 0 | |
2022 | 1 | 0 | |
2023 | 9 | 1 | |
2024 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 31 | 4 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 23 March 2019 | National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | Faroe Islands | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
2. | 6 September 2020 | Latvia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League D | |
3. | 7 October 2020 | Gibraltar | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
4. | 9 June 2023 | Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
Valletta [17]
St Patrick's Athletic
Marsaxlokk Football Club is a Maltese professional football club from the town of Marsaxlokk, which currently plays in the BOV Premier League. The club was founded in 1949. Marsaxlokk won the Maltese Premier League title for the first time in their history, after finishing as league champions for the 2006–07 season. Marsaxlokk has its headquarters at Triq il-Kavalleriza, Mxlokk redoubt.
The Maltese Premier League, known as BOV Premier League for sponsorship reasons with Bank of Valletta, is the highest level of professional football in Malta. Managed by the Malta Football Association, the Premier League is contested by 14 teams and operates on a promotion and relegation system with the Challenge League. As of June 2022, the Premier League ranks 46th out of 55 members in the UEFA coefficient. The league was first competed in 1909 as the First Division, before switching to its current name in 1980; the First Division in turn replaced the Second Division. Sliema Wanderers and Floriana have won the title a record 26 times. The current champions are Ħamrun Spartans who won their 9th title in the 2022–23 season.
Valletta F.C. is a professional football club based in Valletta, the capital city of Malta, and will compete in the Maltese Challenge League, the Maltese second division following their relegation from the Maltese Premier League for the first time in their history in the 2023/24 season. The club was founded in 1943 after a merge of Valletta Prestons, Valletta St. Paul's and Valletta United, the latter being a two-time league winner before the Second World War.
John Buttigieg is a Maltese football manager and former player. His last managerial role was being head coach of Floriana.
Michael Mifsud is a Maltese former professional footballer. He scored 42 goals in 143 games for the Malta national team between 2000 and 2020, and also captained the side. He was voted Maltese Sportsperson of the Year in 2001 and 2003. He played for Kaiserslautern, Lillestrom and Coventry City, as well as several teams in the Maltese Premier League.
Afraik Kaejtan "Chucks" Nwoko is a former professional footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Born in Nigeria, he represented the Malta national team. He is currently the under-19 coach for Maltese First Division side Balzan Youths.
Luke Anthony Dimech is a former Maltese professional footballer defender.
Declan 'Fabio' O'Brien is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is Drogheda United's top goalscorer of all time.
Udochukwu Nwoko is a retired professional footballer who last played for Cypriot Third Division side MEAP Nisou as a midfielder. Born in Nigeria, he represented the Malta national team.
Gary Rogers is an Irish coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, making 735 appearances in all competitions during his career. Rogers was also called up to the Republic of Ireland national football team. He also played Gaelic football for and coached the Meath county team, and has also coached the Cavan, Monaghan and Westmeath county teams.
Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza is a professional footballer who plays for Msida Saint-Joseph as a striker.
Kurtis Byrne is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Bluebell United. He is the son of former Celtic and Southend United player Paul Byrne.
Daniel Anthony Kearns is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for NIFL Premiership club Larne. Kearns joined Peterborough United from Dundalk in 2011 and had three separate loan spells with clubs across Northern England. He permanently joined Carlisle United after leaving Peterborough, and spent a year there before returning to Ireland, spending his later career at various clubs in the Irish Premiership and League of Ireland.
Jake Carroll is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left-back, most recently for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell. He previously played for League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic, English sides Huddersfield Town, Bury, Hartlepool United and Cambridge United and in Scotland with Partick Thistle and Motherwell.
Bastien Charles Patrick Héry is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for League of Ireland First Division club Longford Town. Born in France, he plays for the Madagascar national team.
Matthew Smith is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division side Shelbourne. He started his career with Dundee United and made his first team debut in May 2016, and subsequently had loan periods with Montrose and Cove Rangers before moving to Ireland with Waterford, St Patrick's Athletic and Derry City.
Jamie Terence McGrath is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen and the Republic of Ireland national team. He started his career with St Patrick's Athletic and has since played for Dundalk, St Mirren, Wigan Athletic and Dundee United.
Mario Fontanella is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Al-Muharraq in the Bahraini Premier League.
Michael O'Connor is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Gottne IF. He previously played for Scottish Premiership club Ross County, League of Ireland clubs Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Finn Harps, Waterford and Shelbourne, NIFL Premiership sides Linfield, Glentoran and Dungannon Swifts, and in Sweden for Ytterhogdals IK.
George Martin Kelly is an Irish professional association footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Carlisle United.