Marvin Ekpiteta

Marvin Ekpiteta

Personal information
Full name	Marvin Akpereogene Paul Edem Ekpiteta [1]
Date of birth	(1995-08-26) 26 August 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Enfield, England
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Hibernian
Number	4
Youth career
2011–2014	Oxford United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2016	Chelmsford City	58	(3)
2015	→ Witham Town (loan)	4	(0)
2016–2017	Concord Rangers	22	(1)
2017–2018	East Thurrock United	42	(0)
2018–2020	Leyton Orient	74	(6)
2018	→ East Thurrock United (loan)	3	(0)
2020–2024	Blackpool	103	(9)
2024–	Hibernian	10	(0)
International career
2013	Nigeria U20	2	(0)
2018	England C	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 October 2024 (UTC)

Marvin Akpereogene Paul Edem Ekpiteta (born 26 August 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Hibernian. He has previously played for Chelmsford City, Witham Town, Concord Rangers, East Thurrock United, Leyton Orient and Blackpool, winning promotion from EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system, in 2021.

Club career

In 2014, Ekpiteta began his senior career at Chelmsford City, following a spell in the youth set-up at Oxford United. ^[2] In January 2015, Ekpiteta signed dual-registration forms with Witham Town. ^[3] After making 58 league appearances for Chelmsford, scoring three times, Ekpiteta signed for Essex rivals Concord Rangers in 2016. In January 2017, after making 22 National League South appearances for the club, ^[4] Ekpiteta signed for East Thurrock United, in a move labelled as "naïve" by Concord manager Adam Flanagan. ^[5]

On 31 January 2018, Ekpiteta signed for National League club Leyton Orient on a 2+1⁄2-year contract, being loaned back to East Thurrock as part of the deal. ^[6] After three games back on loan at East Thurrock, Ekpiteta was recalled from the club, making his Leyton Orient debut in a 1–0 loss away to Dover Athletic on 3 March 2018. ^[7] On 9 March 2019, Ekpiteta scored the winner for Leyton Orient in a 1–0 win against Wrexham, which saw Orient replace Wrexham at the top of the National League. ^[8] At the end of the season, Leyton Orient gained promotion, with Ekpiteta making his Football League debut on 3 August 2019 in a 1–0 win against Cheltenham Town. ^[9]

Ekpiteta signed a two-year contract with Blackpool on 8 July 2020. ^[10] He scored his first goal for Blackpool in a 5–0 win over Wigan Athletic on 27 January 2021. ^[11] He signed another two-year contract with the club on 8 March 2022. ^[12] Ekpiteta was named Blackpool's player of the season for the 2021–22 season by both the club supporters and his teammates. ^[13]

On 7 May 2024, Blackpool announced the player would be leaving the club in the summer when his contract expired. ^[14]

On 28 May 2024, Ekpiteta signed for Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.^{[ citation needed ]}

International career

In 2013, Ekpiteta was called up for Nigeria U20, making two appearances. ^[15] On 10 October 2018, Ekpiteta made his debut for England C in a 1–0 victory against Estonia U23. ^[16]

Personal life

Ekpiteta's brother, Marvel, also played professional football. ^[17]

In May 2022, Ekpiteta's Blackpool teammate Jake Daniels came out as gay. Following his announcement, some of Ekpiteta social media posts dating back to 2012 and 2013 were highlighted as being homophobic. ^[18] Ekpiteta responded by deleting the posts and issuing an apology, saying that his actions from a decade prior "do not in any way reflect the values [he] hold[s] now". In response, Daniels accepted the apology, and tweeted that he is "proud" of being Ekpiteta's teammate. ^[18] On 30 May, the Football Association issued Ekpiteta a formal warning for his tweets. ^[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 21 May 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chelmsford City	2014–15 [20]	National League South	25	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	27	2
	2015–16 [20]	National League South	33	1	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	34	1
	Total		58	3	2	0	0	0	1	0	61	3
Concord Rangers	2016–17 [20]	National League South	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	0
East Thurrock United	2016–17 [20]	National League South	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	0
	2017–18 [20]	National League South	29	0	2	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	33	0
	Total		45	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	49	0
Leyton Orient	2017–18 [21]	National League	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2018–19 [22]	National League	40	6	0	0	0	0	5 [lower-alpha 1]	0	40	6
	2019–20 [23]	EFL League Two	27	0	0	0	1	0	4 [lower-alpha 2]	0	32	0
	Total		74	6	0	0	1	0	9	0	79	6
Blackpool	2020–21 [24]	EFL League One	28	2	4	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	34	2
	2021-22	EFL Championship	40	5	1	0	1	0	-	-	42	5
	2022-23	EFL Championship	25	1	1	1	1	0	-	-	27	2
	Total		93	8	6	1	3	0	1	0	103	9
Career total			270	17	10	1	4	0	13	0	292	18

1. Appearances in the Football Association Challenge Trophy
2. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
3. Appearance in the EFL League One play-offs

Honours

Leyton Orient

• National League: 2018–19 ^[25]
• FA Trophy runner-up: 2018–19 ^[26]

Individual

• Blackpool Player of the Season: 2021–22 ^[13]

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Blackpool" (PDF). English Football League. p. 9. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. "Leyton Orient snap up East Thurrock United defender Marvin Ekpiteta to join deadline day party". East London Advertiser. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
3. "Player News". Chelmsford City F.C. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
4. Marvin Ekpiteta at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
5. "Concord's Flanagan defends 'naive' defender after East Thurrock move". Basildon Echo. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
6. "NEWS: Club bring in Ekpiteta". Leyton Orient F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
7. "Marvin Ekpiteta". Leyton Orient F.C. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
8. "Leyton Orient 1–0 Wrexham". BBC Sport. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
9. "Leyton Orient 1–0 Cheltenham Town". BBC Sport. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
10. "Marvin Ekpiteta Signs For The Seasiders". Blackpool FC. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
11. "Wigan 0-5 Blackpool". BBC. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
12. "Marvin Ekpiteta's New Deal" – Blackpool FC, 8 March 2022
13. "Marvin Ekpiteta the big winner as Blackpool hand out end-of-season awards after final home game". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
14. "Blackpool release 11 including Shayne Lavery and Marvin Ekpiteta". BBC Sport. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
15. "Leyton Orient's Marvin Ekpiteta hopes his performances will lead to a Nigeria call-up in the future". East London & West Essex Guardian. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
16. "Leyton Orient's Marvin Ekpiteta makes England C debut". Epping Forest Guardian. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
17. "Marvel Ekpiteta". Chelmsford City F.C. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
18. "Blackpool's Ekpiteta apologises for past homophobic social media posts". The Guardian . 18 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
19. "Blackpool defender Marvin Ekpiteta issued with 'formal warning' by the FA". www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
20. Marvin Ekpiteta at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
21. "Games played by Marvin Ekpiteta in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
22. "Games played by Marvin Ekpiteta in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
23. "Games played by Marvin Ekpiteta in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
24. "Games played by Marvin Ekpiteta in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
25. "National League: 2018/19: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
    "Leyton Orient FC: Squad". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
26. Stevens, Rob (19 May 2019). "AFC Fylde 1–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2019.

External links

• Marvin Ekpiteta at Soccerbase